Ballistic in Boston
by LuckyLadybug
Summary: CONCLUDED WITH CHAPTERS 19 AND 20! The YGO gang finally arrives in Bostonminus Shadi, who met his end at the ranchand a new mystery immediately presents itself!
1. Boston At Last!

Yu-Gi-Oh!  
  
Ballistic in Boston  
  
By Lucky_Ladybug  
  
Notes: Usual stuff ^^;; The YGO characters aren't mine, the story is, and this shall be full of sibling and friendship cuteness! ^____^ And this takes place immediately following the end of Ranch of No Return, so if you haven't read that, you may get slightly confused XD I also refer to a story that's not quite completed yet, but I don't tell any confusing plot details from it. Heh heh. ^___~  
  
The sound of the motor grew louder and louder. It was right up by his ear now and something was tickling his cheek. What was it? He hadn't fallen asleep that close to the engine of the airplane, had he? Maybe it was one of those locomotives. Or a vacuum cleaner. Or . . .  
  
Yami Bakura suddenly sprang awake. "CAT!!!!" he yelled in fury.  
  
Oreo, curled up in his hair, continued to purr at a volume that made her sound like a miniature motorboat.  
  
"I've told you not to do that!" the tomb raider scolded her.  
  
Oreo yawned nonchalantly and began to stretch.  
  
Joey cracked up. "Man, I never thought I'd see Yami B talkin' to a cat," he grinned.  
  
Yami Bakura ignored him.  
  
"We're landing now, Yami," Bakura spoke up, pointing out the window of the airplane.  
  
The thief grunted. "Take your cat, you fool!" he snarled.  
  
Oreo snuggled close and licked his cheek.  
  
"Oh, but Yami, she wants to be with you!" Bakura protested with a smile.  
  
"This is completely absurd and I won't stand for it," Yami Bakura hissed in reply.  
  
"Well, yeah," Tristan grinned from across the aisle, "it does kinda destroy your tough-guy image to be snoozing there with a cat nestled in your hair."  
  
"Silence, foolish mortal," Yami Bakura retorted.  
  
Marik was sleeping as well, having slumped against his sister. Ishizu smiled softly, stroking his blonde hair. "You deserve to rest, dear brother," she whispered, "after what you went through."  
  
Rishid watched his siblings and smiled.  
  
Alyson, still wide awake, stared out at the airport runway as Seto Kaiba made a flawless landing with the enormous jet. She grabbed the Millennium Ankh, which had been entrusted to her by the now-deceased guardian Shadi—the man who, in her eyes, had been like her father.  
  
"What am I supposed to do with this?" she wondered quietly for the hundredth time.  
  
Téa looked over at her. "Just keep it safe, I guess," she replied gently. "When the time is right, maybe you'll find out more."  
  
Yami Yugi still appeared lost in thought.  
  
"What are you thinking about, Yami?" Yugi asked now, looking up at him. The kind-hearted boy was heavily feeling Shadi's death as well. Yugi couldn't stand for anyone to die, and especially not someone who had been fighting for the side of good, as Shadi had.  
  
Yami Yugi looked down at him. "Many things," he said at last. "Something has been plaguing me ever since we left that ranch and I don't know what it is."  
  
Yugi perked up, looking at the ancient Pharaoh in surprise.  
  
"It's . . . it's as if one of those wraiths has taken up residence in my heart, wearying it down," Yami Yugi continued.  
  
Yugi was silent for a time, pondering on this. "Maybe you're sad about . . . about Shadi too," he said finally.  
  
Yami Yugi narrowed his eyes. "I feel more of an uneasiness. Now that the guardian is dead, what will happen to all the evil forces he was holding back? Shadi was a major player in the game of keeping balance between good and evil."  
  
Yugi studied the floor sadly. He knew all of that was true, and definitely something to be concerned about, but at the moment it seemed . . . wrong to be worrying over it. Wasn't his Yami sad at all that Shadi had died? The violet-eyed boy sighed and looked out the window at the lights of Boston.  
  
Mai leaned back and smirked. "It'll be nice to be back with civilization again," she remarked, flipping her hair.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure it was terrible for you to be away from the beauty salon for so many days," Joey grinned.  
  
Mai sprang up. "What?! Joey Wheeler!" she yelled angrily.  
  
Marik started awake with her yelling and blinked.  
  
"Hello, Master," Rishid smiled as the boy looked up at him sleepily.  
  
Marik smiled back and rubbed the back of his neck.  
  
"Are you feeling better, Marik?" Ishizu asked.  
  
"Much better," Marik replied. He was still sore from being thrown over the waterfall, but, he thought ruefully, he'd rather be sore than cold.  
  
Up in the cockpit, Seto climbed out of the pilot's seat and replaced the headset.  
  
Mokuba leaped down as well. "That was awesome, big brother," he chirped.  
  
Seto chuckled and opened the door. "I'll have to check in with KaibaCorp and see how things have been going," he mused.  
  
Joey looked around for Rex as everyone headed off the plane. "Where'd that snake go?" he exclaimed. "Did he stay behind at the ranch or something?!"  
  
"I'm right here, genius," Rex said irritably, popping up out of nowhere.  
  
Joey glared at him. "Yeah? Well, I didn't see you, shorty!"  
  
Yugi stood up and sighed. "Please, guys, can we not fight now?" he begged, walking in between them.  
  
Joey blinked as he looked at his best friend. "Sure, Yug," he shrugged.  
  
"What's with him?" Rex wondered.  
  
Téa brushed by them as well and gave the two boys Looks. "He's still sad about Shadi," she told them.  
  
****  
  
As everyone went inside the airport, Joey, who had wandered ahead, was met with quite a surprise.  
  
"Joey!" Serenity's familiar voice called out.  
  
The Brooklyn boy turned around, looking confused. "Serenity?!" he burst out in complete disbelief.  
  
Suddenly the younger girl was running into his arms and hugging him tightly. "Joey! I've missed you so much!" she exclaimed.  
  
Trying to get over his shock, Joey returned the hug and then gently pushed her back. "Let me have a look at you, sis," he smiled. "Where in the world did you come from?!"  
  
Serenity looked up at him and smiled back. "I heard you were coming here, Joey, and well . . . I wanted to surprise you."  
  
"Hello, Wheeler," a new voice said, and Joey's head snapped up.  
  
"Duke?!" he burst out.  
  
Duke Devlin smirked. "That's right. It's been a while, hasn't it." The last time Joey had seen Duke was back during a very dangerous night when they had all been stalked by a vengeful woman.  
  
"What are you doin' here with my sister?!" Joey demanded. He was very protective of Serenity and didn't like it when any boy tried to get close to her. And there were two boys Joey knew who were attempting to win her affections—Duke and Tristan.  
  
"Well . . ." Duke gave a genuine smile now. "Serenity didn't want to come alone in case something went wrong, so I offered to accompany her."  
  
"Yeah?" Joey looked at him suspiciously.  
  
Serenity looked at him firmly. "That's the truth, Joey," she said. "Duke is very sweet."  
  
Tristan happened to catch up at that moment and his eyes went wide. "Serenity!" he cried, dropping his luggage.  
  
Serenity looked up at him and giggled. "Happy to see me?" she asked, her eyes twinkling.  
  
"Am I?" Tristan grinned, going over and taking her hand while Joey fumed.  
  
Serenity gazed up at him. "So, why are you all here in Boston anyway?" she wondered. "Yugi's grandpa didn't give me all the details."  
  
Mako stepped forward. "They graciously came to help me find clues to my father's whereabouts," he said, then blinked at her. "Hmm, I don't believe we've been introduced," the raven-haired young man mused. "I am Mako Tsunami, champion of the Seven Seas!"  
  
Serenity smiled. "So you're Mako! Joey's told me about you. I'm his sister, Serenity Wheeler."  
  
Mako looked at the auburn-haired girl in front of him. "Joey has told me much about you as well," he declared.  
  
Wanting to forego any other attempts to win Serenity's heart, Joey immediately came between them. "Well, why don't we see if Moneybags has found a hotel for us yet?" he spoke up.  
  
Serenity blinked. "Mr. Kaiba's going to get hotel rooms for all of us?" she exclaimed.  
  
Joey shrugged. "Hey, it'd be nice. He's got the cash."  
  
Seto gave him a dark look. He was really tired of being involved in their crazy shenanigans by now and would be perfectly happy just leaving them all there. But Mokuba looked so excited to be somewhere new again. . . . The young businessman gave a sigh and indicated for everyone to follow him. Honestly, he smirked to himself, Mokuba must have me wrapped around his little finger.  
  
Now Serenity had spotted Marik and was running over to him. "Marik!" she exclaimed, then stood in front of him, blushing. "Um . . ." She looked up into his surprised lavender eyes. "I wanted to thank you for . . . for when you warned us about that person who wanted revenge on everyone," the girl spoke at last.  
  
Marik smiled down at her. "I couldn't stand by and not do anything," he replied gently.  
  
Joey stared at them. Oh man! he yelled in his mind. Am I gonna havta watch out for Serenity when she gets near any guy?!  
  
Suddenly Mokuba gave a yelp. "Look out!!" he screamed, pointing to a runaway cart barreling right towards them all!  
  
Instantly Seto grabbed Mokuba and yanked him out of the way. Everyone else dove for cover as well, just as the vehicle rolled through and smashed into the wall behind them, raining plaster down on anyone unfortunate enough to be nearby.  
  
Joey got up shakily. "Oh man! We nearly got turned into bowling pins!" he cried, looking around frantically for his sister. "Serenity! Where's Serenity?!"  
  
"I'm here, Joey," the girl's voice came then. "I'm alright."  
  
Joey whirled around to see Marik and Duke both helping her up and the boy grumbled to himself.  
  
"Meow?" Oreo said uneasily, peering up from inside Yami Bakura's shirt. The tomb raider growled in annoyance while Bakura just stared ahead in shock.  
  
Abruptly an airport worker came running up to them, out of breath and looking pale. "Is anyone hurt?" she demanded.  
  
"We're all fine," Yugi said, standing up.  
  
"What happened?" Seto glared at the woman angrily. "Someone could have been hurt seriously by that thing!"  
  
The security guard looked at him sternly. "I'm quite aware of that," she said in a cold tone. "Nothing like this has ever happened before!"  
  
The group all exchanged concerned looks. Could it have been done purposely? Did someone unfriendly already know they were there? 


	2. Mysterious Visits

Everyone looked around the airport for the better part of an hour for suspicious characters, but they found absolutely nothing. Eventually Seto said that it was probably just an accident about the runaway cart and that they should go to the hotel.  
  
Joey grinned broadly. "Oh, so you are gonna pay for all the rooms?" he asked.  
  
Seto grunted in reply.  
  
Ishizu sighed to herself and gazed ahead. Normally she was able to keep her emotions bottled up, which was what she was trying to do now. She missed Shadi so very much. It had been such a terrible shock when she had first heard the news that he had fallen. The last time she had seen him was after she had been pushed down the stairs at the ranch and her spirit had briefly separated from her body. She had told him that she knew he would be able to defeat the evil in the ranch, and he had, indeed, done that—at the price of his own life.  
  
"Lady Ishizu?"  
  
Ishizu looked up at Rishid and tried to manage a wan smile.  
  
"Are you alright?" Her older brother continued to gaze at her in concern.  
  
Ishizu gently squeezed his hand. "Yes," she replied quietly.  
  
****  
  
When they arrived at the hotel, their other five guests who had been with them at the ranch—Ms. Myrvyn, Mr. O'Dover, Joan, Linda, and Marie—quickly split up and went their own ways.  
  
"We've had enough hijinks for a good while," Mr. O'Dover said, waving goodbye. "I wish you kids luck in this latest caper of yours!"  
  
"Hey, thanks," Joey said. "Heck, I'm sure we'll need it!"  
  
"You might see Linda on the news tonight," Joan told them. "Remember, she's a news anchor here in Boston."  
  
"Oh great," Téa sighed. She didn't like Linda very much, especially after the way she had blatantly accused Rishid of trying to run her down with a horse. The woman had never even apologized for that, even after finding out she was wrong.  
  
****  
  
The gang decided to pair off in the rooms because there was so much space. Yugi and his Yami took a room again, as did Bakura and his Yami (and Oreo, of course). Téa and Mai decided to keep sharing a room, and Serenity went with Ishizu. Joey and Tristan took the next room, and then Seto and Mokuba, Marik and Rishid, Mako and Duke, and Alyson and her grandmother (who would stay until they could find their Boston relatives) took the others. After considering his options, Rex opted to stay with Mako and Duke. Everyone took a good long time to relax that afternoon, with the intent that they would begin searching for Martin Collsworth the next day.  
  
"I think I'll go to dinner with Joey and the others," Serenity said that evening to Ishizu. "Do you want to come?"  
  
Ishizu smiled sadly. "No, that is alright. I'm not hungry at the moment."  
  
Serenity blinked at her. "Well, okay," she said slowly. "If you're sure . . ."  
  
"I am," Ishizu said quickly. "You go along to your brother, Serenity. He hasn't seen you in quite a while."  
  
Serenity promised to bring some food back for Ishizu and then left. The Egyptian woman watched her go and then sank back down on her bed with a sigh. Now that she was alone at last, the memories and bottled-up emotions spilled over and she began to weep for her lost friend.  
  
A soft knock on the door interrupted Ishizu's mourning and she tried to wipe the tears away from her eyes. "Yes?" she called.  
  
"Sister?" Marik's worried voice came through the door.  
  
Ishizu took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Come in, brother," she said at last.  
  
Marik eased the door open and gazed at Ishizu before saying softly, "I heard you crying, Ishizu."  
  
Ishizu sighed and motioned for him to come closer. Marik then did so and the woman pulled him into her arms, tears flowing again. "Marik . . . oh Marik . . . thank the Lord I did not lose you. You might have died two different times at that evil abode . . ." She trailed off, shaking her head.  
  
Marik looked up at her. "You're missing Shadi, aren't you, sister?" he asked kindly.  
  
Ishizu laid her cheek against Marik's soft blonde hair. "I don't understand why he was taken," she said sadly. "It couldn't have been his time!"  
  
Marik hugged her comfortingly, unsure of what to say. Ishizu's pain seemed to be eased just by her brother's presence, however, and words were not necessary.  
  
****  
  
"Oh wow!" Joey exclaimed, looking greedily at the long buffet tables of food. "This is great! Joey Wheeler's found his seventh heaven!" Immediately he ran forward and began dishing food up on a plate.  
  
"Are you going to eat all of that?" Téa said in disbelief as she watched the pyramid of edibles climb until they were practically halfway to the ceiling.  
  
"Heck, yeah!" Joey retorted. "Man, I can't remember the last time I even ate!"  
  
"Didn't they feed you at that ranch you were at?" Duke said in disbelief. Mai had filled him in briefly on what had happened to her and the others on their way to Boston, but she hadn't told any details.  
  
"We were running around so much trying not to get killed we really didn't have a lot of time for eating," Tristan informed him as he pointed out all the best things Serenity should try.  
  
Oreo suddenly gave a yowl of pure joy and sprang from Yami Bakura's shirt, grabbing at a huge piece of honey-baked ham.  
  
"Oh dear!" Bakura exclaimed, turning pink as several other nearby persons cried out in horror and backed away.  
  
"Merow?" Oreo blinked at them all and began to drag her prize away with her.  
  
Yami Bakura grumbled something under his breath and also ravenously reached for the meat, eating it in an extremely disorderly fashion.  
  
Bakura felt like crawling in a hole and staying there. "Yami! Didn't anyone ever teach you table manners?!" he wailed.  
  
Mai looked away, repulsed. "He eats even worse than you do, Joey," she remarked.  
  
Joey turned to glare at her from where he had half a burger in his mouth. "What's that supposed to mean?!" he yelled indignantly, spraying crumbs of food here and there and everywhere.  
  
"On second thought, forget it," Mai sighed as she ducked. "No one could eat as bad as you do."  
  
Téa gave a sigh as well. "It's a good thing Marik isn't here to see this," she said. Everyone knew how much their Egyptian friend despised meat.  
  
"Where is Marik, anyway?" Mokuba wondered. He and Seto were sitting at a nearby table, eating the foods they'd picked out. "I thought he was gonna go get Rishid and Ishizu and come back down."  
  
Oreo meowed loudly from her position under the table, where she was attacking her precious ham with all paws and her teeth.  
  
"Man, she must think that thing's still alive or somethin'," Joey commented.  
  
Yami Yugi stared out the window, trying to sort out the turmoil in his heart. He felt almost as if . . . as if something from the ranch had followed them here to Boston. And not something good. Could having Alyson and her grandmother along with them be the key? he wondered.  
  
"Yami?"  
  
The Pharaoh turned to see Yugi standing there beside him.  
  
"Yugi, we must find out all we can about our guests," Yami Yugi told him without saying hello.  
  
"Huh?" Yugi blinked. "Why? Surely you don't think that they're . . ."  
  
"Something may be after them," Yami Yugi interrupted.  
  
Yugi's eyes widened. "You really think so, Yami?"  
  
"It's a possibility we can't ignore," the Pharaoh replied.  
  
"Where are they?!" Yugi looked around the dining room, suddenly very panicked.  
  
"Perhaps they are still up in their room," Yami Yugi suggested. "I should go find out."  
  
****  
  
Marik was still trying to comfort his sister. He held her close, stroking her long black hair. "I'm certain Shadi is at peace now," he said gently. "If he had lived, he would have been in so much pain. . . ."  
  
Ishizu knew Marik was right. She heaved a sad, resigned sigh and hugged him again, then smiled. "I am grateful I was able to know Shadi for as long as I did," she said now, pulling away and gazing into her brother's eyes. "And you and dear Rishid are still with me, even though both of you might have . . . not made it out." She touched Marik's cheek softly. "Thank you, my precious brother," she whispered. "Thank you for being here for me."  
  
Marik smiled and reached for her hand, holding it between his.  
  
****  
  
Alyson, restless and still gloomy, had gone out on the balcony just beyond the dining room. Night had fallen by now, and the lights and stars throughout Boston twinkled brightly. She clutched at the Ankh and sighed to herself, staring up at the heavens.  
  
"Alyson."  
  
The little girl spun around at the sound of the familiar voice, her eyes wide and full of disbelief and hope. "Shadi?!" she exclaimed.  
  
Shadi, indeed, stood before her—his curly, dark hair spilling over the shoulders of the white robe he was wearing. His image shimmered slightly as he knelt down beside her.  
  
"Shadi, where've you been?!" Alyson cried. "I've missed you so much, and Ishizu has too, and . . ."  
  
The Egyptian man held his hand up for silence. "Only you can see me, little one," he told her solemnly. "I have come to give you a warning."  
  
Alyson stared up at him. "What kind of a warning?" she gasped.  
  
"There is a great evil that has followed you and the others here to Boston," Shadi said quietly. "You will need the Ankh in order to defeat it."  
  
Alyson held it up tearfully. "It's yours, Shadi! Please take it!" she sobbed.  
  
Shadi shook his head. "I cannot take it at this time," he replied, "and you must tell no one that I was here. It would put all of you in far worse danger."  
  
Alyson looked down sadly, still holding the Ankh. "But Shadi . . ."  
  
Shadi smiled kindly and brushed her tears away. "It will be alright," he assured her.  
  
Alyson sniffled and looked up at him. "Will you come back?" she whispered.  
  
Shadi stood up, staring out into the distance. "We shall see," he said finally before he shimmered again and vanished.  
  
It was shortly afterward when Téa opened the door to the balcony and found Alyson there, curled up in a chair and blinking out at the lights. "Alyson!" Téa exclaimed. "Everyone's been looking for you! We've all been so worried . . ."  
  
Alyson looked up at her and blinked. "I'm okay," she said.   
  
Téa smiled. "That's good. But you'd better come inside now. It's getting late."  
  
Without speaking again Alyson climbed out of the chair and followed Téa inside. She longed to tell the others about what had happened, but, knowing Shadi's warning, how could she?  
  
****  
  
Rishid knocked on the door of Ishizu's room. "Lady Ishizu?" he called in a hesitant voice.  
  
"Come in, Rishid," Ishizu told him, wondering what was up.  
  
Slowly Rishid entered, holding a strange envelope in his hand.  
  
"What is that?" Marik asked, perking up and staring at it.  
  
Rishid slowly lifted the flap and took out a single sheet of paper. "It seems that someone thinks they know why we are here," he said, showing it to his siblings.  
  
Ishizu took it from him and read:  
  
I know that you're looking for  
  
Martin Collsworth. I also know  
  
where he is. Meet me outside the  
  
hotel tonight at 2am.  
  
Marik blinked. "We haven't even told anyone of our plans," he pointed out. "How could this person know?"  
  
"It may be some sort of trap," Rishid said gravely.  
  
Marik smiled grimly. "It seems, doesn't it," he said, "that no matter how innocent and simple we think something is, something always comes up to make it more difficult."  
  
Ishizu sighed. "It does seem that way," she said, then suddenly gasped. "I saw something move out on the balcony!" she cried. "Someone has been spying on us!" 


	3. Kamara

Instantly Marik and Rishid both sprang up and dashed to the balcony. Before their Peeping Tom could get away, the two Ishtars had grabbed him . . . only to make a startling discovery.  
  
"This Peeping Tom is a girl!" Marik cried, staring at the large brown eyes blinking up at him.  
  
Now Ishizu came over as well. "What is your business here?" she asked sternly.  
  
The intruder ignored her and looked up at Rishid. "Hey, handsome," she purred, pulling her veil down. She was wearing a snug, dark blue jumpsuit with high boots, and her ebony hair cascaded down her back, shimmering in the moonlight.  
  
"Who are you?" Rishid demanded.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm not a thief," she assured them all. "I just came with some information I thought you might find interesting."  
  
"And what might that be?" Marik queried suspiciously, raising an eyebrow at her.  
  
"And how do you know who we are?" Ishizu wanted to know.  
  
The other woman smiled. "Oh . . . mutual friends," she replied.  
  
Marik still didn't look convinced. "I do hope you're planning to give a detailed explanation," he growled.  
  
"I will," she said, giving Rishid's arm a squeeze. "Hmm . . . nice muscles."  
  
Rishid grunted, pulling his arm away from her. "Just tell us what is going on."  
  
"Of course," the mysterious eavesdropper answered in her smoky voice.  
  
"First, why not tell us your name?" Ishizu spoke up.  
  
"Well," the other woman said slowly, "most people just call me Viper."  
  
****  
  
Back in the dining room, Joey had finally finished eating his tower of food and watched as Yami Yugi interrogated Alyson for everything she could tell him about her family and her grandmother.  
  
"Man, what's he hope to find out?" the blonde boy wondered.  
  
"I'm not sure," Yugi replied, blinking at the Pharaoh. "But it has something to do with this feeling he has that something's followed us."  
  
"Say what?!" Joey exclaimed. "Oh man, as if we don't have enough to worry about!"  
  
"What does he think has followed us?" Mako asked, immensely concerned.  
  
Yugi paused. "Well . . . whatever it is, he doesn't think it's anything good," he said at last.  
  
"Why do I get the feeling we've plunged into something disastrous again?" Duke sighed.  
  
"Maybe because that's almost a sure guarantee," Mai replied, staring down at her plate.  
  
Oreo leaped gracefully onto the table and stood on her hind legs, begging and meowing adorably for Yami Bakura to share his ham.  
  
The thief looked down at her. "Cat. You've already eaten half of it," he growled.  
  
Oreo just kept looking back at him. "Merow?" she said plaintively.  
  
Yami Bakura made a face of disgust. "Don't *do* that!" he yelled, tearing off some of his ham and throwing it at her.   
  
Oreo purred happily and began to munch on her new meal.  
  
Tristan was staring at Yami Bakura in disbelief. "Man, who've thought he'd actually like that cat?" he said loudly.  
  
Yami Bakura grunted. "I don't," he said flatly.  
  
"Oh suuuure you don't," Joey grinned, getting into the act.  
  
"If you dolts wish to stay in this dimension, you will choose to cease bothering me," Yami Bakura threatened.  
  
"Hey, anything you say, Yami B," Joey shrugged, trying not to laugh.  
  
Yugi glanced over at the scene and managed a small smile at the antics before turning his attention back to Yami Yugi and Alyson. The girl kept turning the Ankh around in her hands and looking anywhere but at Yami Yugi. It's almost as if she's nervous about something and is afraid that Yami will realize what it is! Yugi thought to himself. Wait—maybe that's exactly it! Alyson knows something she's not telling!  
  
Yami Yugi seemed to realize this as well. "Alyson, what is it you're not telling me?" he demanded now.  
  
Alyson immediately jumped and stared at him. "Nothing," she said quickly. "I've told you everything I know, Mr. Pharaoh, sir, so can I please go?"  
  
Yugi had to chuckle at how Alyson had addressed his Yami.  
  
Yami Yugi looked at her thoughtfully. "Perhaps you have told me everything you know about your grandmother and her visions, but I believe you are hiding other secrets."  
  
Alyson looked away, an almost terrified expression on her face. "No! No, I'm not!" she cried.  
  
Yami Yugi sighed, realizing that Alyson wasn't going to tell him anything more. "Very well. You may go," he said in resignation.  
  
Instantly Alyson brightened. "Thank you, Mr. Pharaoh!" she exclaimed, hurrying off.  
  
Yami Yugi stared after her, shaking his head. "She knows something, Yugi," he said firmly. "And somehow, we must find out what it is!"  
  
****  
  
Marik looked at Viper harshly. They were back in Ishizu's suite and sitting in the living room part. "Well? Talk!" he said in a dangerous, low tone, prepared to grab her if it became necessary.  
  
Viper sighed. "I guess you've got a right to be angry," she said, leaning back on the couch. "Especially after everything you guys have all been through."  
  
"What do you mean?" Rishid asked, gazing at her strangely.  
  
The woman had to laugh. "Jade told me about Frisco," she told them finally.  
  
Marik raised an eyebrow. "You know Jade Chan?"  
  
"Oh yeah. We go way back," Viper smiled. "But anyway . . . I know this Martin Collsworth guy you're looking for."  
  
"But it was not you who left that note," Ishizu said slowly. It was a statement, not a question.  
  
Viper shook her head. "No. That, I'm sure, is a trap—just as you deduced yourself." She looked over at Rishid. "See, there's some other people who are looking for someone else who's trying to find Collsworth. They sent you this note hoping that you are the one they're after. They don't really know where Collsworth is. They just want to capture this girl." Now her gaze shifted back to Ishizu, who narrowed her eyes suspiciously.  
  
"And why exactly do they think I am she?" the Egyptian woman wanted to know.  
  
Slowly Viper pulled a photo out of the sleeve of her jumpsuit and showed it to Ishizu. "This is why," she replied flatly.  
  
Ishizu stared at the picture and Marik and Rishid both crowded around to see as well. The female being photographed was looking at the camera in wide-eyed surprise, as if she hadn't expected or wanted to have her likeness captured on film. She was dressed in an abundance of white materials and had many scarves and veils draped over her. All that was visible of her face were her striking blue eyes.  
  
"I think you can see why you were mistaken for her," Viper remarked, looking at several of Ishizu's own scarves laid out on a nearby chair and the other woman's own blue eyes.  
  
Ishizu handed the photograph back to her. "Yes, I suppose so," she said calmly. "But who is this girl and why do you know of her?"  
  
Viper replaced the picture in her tight sleeve and crossed her arms. "Well . . . this girl came to me and told me her story. She's from Egypt, as you are, and she's on the run from these guys because she knows too much about their crooked dealings. But then . . . why don't you let her tell you everything herself?"  
  
Rishid tensed, half-expecting a half dozen thugs with guns to appear and try to abduct them all. "And how will she do that?" he asked, a hand protectively straying to Marik's shoulder.  
  
Viper glanced over at the bedroom door. "Alright, honey, you can come out now," she called.  
  
Cautiously the young woman from the picture emerged from behind the glass doors of the balcony and stood in the doorway of the bedroom, apparently not sure where to go from here.  
  
Ishizu looked at her kindly, seeing how frightened she appeared. "Come here," she said gently.  
  
The girl advanced gratefully and now stood in front of Ishizu, who raised up to greet her, as did the others.  
  
"What is your name?" Ishizu asked.  
  
"Kamara," was the soft response as the veil came away from the girl's face, revealing that she was barely as old as Marik.  
  
The boy blinked at her in surprise and then looked at Viper for an explanation.  
  
"I'm trying to convince her to come with me to San Francisco," Viper said. "But she wants to stay here and figure out how to put those guys away before they wreck any more lives."  
  
"I must," Kamara said in her thickly-accented voice. "It is my duty."  
  
Viper smirked. "She's as stubborn as Jade."  
  
Rishid looked at Kamara, sensing that there was more to this tale than was being told.  
  
Kamara gave a sad sigh. "They destroy anyone in their way," she said softly. "I witnessed them setting up a horrible car crash on a highway in Egypt. Since then they have been after me to take my life. I felt you needed to know about this because they have gotten it in their minds that you are actually me. And I do not wish for anyone else to suffer needlessly."  
  
Ishizu smiled at her gently. "You are a very kind-hearted person. This was quite a risk for you to come here this way. Those people could have seen you."  
  
"I had to risk that," Kamara replied. "I couldn't not let you be warned of this."  
  
Marik looked at her, cocking his head to the side. "Tell me, where are your parents?" he asked, thinking that she was quite young to be getting into such predicaments.  
  
"Both dead," Kamara said quietly, looking away.  
  
Marik blinked in surprise and felt guilty for asking. "I'm sorry," he apologized.  
  
Kamara nodded and turned slightly. "If I can find Martin Collsworth, he may be able to help," she said. "He knows about this gang and has been trying to stop them for years."  
  
"The last I knew of him, he was here in Boston, but I'm afraid I don't know more than that," Marik admitted. "He's not listed in the telephone book."  
  
"That sounds like him," Kamara commented. "He always did like his privacy."  
  
Abruptly there was a knock on the door and the girl grew upset. "I must leave!" she declared. "If I am found here, it will be drastic for you. If my enemies see only you here, they will realize that you are not the one they seek. But if I am here as well, they will harm you and your brothers mercilessly!" With that she turned to flee.  
  
"I'll get her out of here," Viper promised. "We'll be in touch." She winked at Rishid. "Later, handsome." And with that, they were both gone.  
  
The knock came again.  
  
"Marik!! Are you in there?" Mokuba's hopeful voice wafted in to them.  
  
Marik smiled and went over to the door, opening it. "Yes, I am here," he said.  
  
Mokuba grinned up at him. "Are you and Ishizu and Rishid all okay?" he asked. "I thought you were gonna come downstairs!"  
  
The Egyptian teen chuckled. "We were. But we got a bit . . . delayed."  
  
Mokuba knew that tone of voice meant "we'll talk about this later." So he just continued to smile brightly at his friend and grabbed at his hand. "Well? Are you gonna come now?" he wanted to know. "They have so many good things to eat!"  
  
Marik glanced back at Ishizu and Rishid as Mokuba tugged on his hand impatiently. "Shall we go?" he asked with a smile.  
  
Ishizu smiled. "Let's," she said. "Food sounds very delicious right now."  
  
****  
  
Downstairs, Oreo was suddenly going a bit crazy. She perked up, yowling loudly, and then started running toward the fire escape door, pawing at it.  
  
"Foolish feline!" Yami Bakura cried. "Do you want the alarm to sound? Leave the door alone!"  
  
Oreo refused to do so, however, and threw her entire weight against it, managing to get it open slightly—just enough so that she could run out.  
  
A horrible siren rang out through the building, startling everyone present.  
  
"Oh my!" Bakura exclaimed, going pink as all eyes turned to look at him and Yami Bakura, the latter of whom was chasing his cat through the door, causing the alarm to go off again.  
  
"What's going on down here?!" Mokuba gasped as he and the Ishtars made their way into the room.  
  
"The tomb robber's cat set off the fire alarm," Seto explained from the table where he still was.  
  
Mokuba laughed, clearly able to picture that in his mind. He sighed then, watching Bakura run after his Yami. "I guess we'll all need to go help out," the little boy said.  
  
"It can't take that many people to catch a cat, can it?" Joey blinked at Mokuba from where he was sitting.  
  
"That depends on the cat," Mokuba replied. "And when it's Oreo, well . . ."  
  
Several loud crashes came from outside.  
  
"Man, it might take the whole cavalry to catch her!" Joey exclaimed, leaping up.  
  
****  
  
Oreo led them all down to the docks, bounding along purposefully with an obvious goal in sight. Continually she looked back to make certain that Yami Bakura was still chasing her and then she would give a loud meow and tear off again, causing the thief to begin cursing thunderously in Egyptian.  
  
"What the heck could she want us to see?!" Joey cried.  
  
"It must be something pretty major," Tristan shot back.  
  
Mokuba was running after the cat as well when he suddenly stopped to look at some odd crates. "Huh? What're these for?" he wondered.  
  
Before he could wonder further, an arm came around behind him and lifted his small body into the air.  
  
"Well, what have we here?" a faceless man sneered. "You little gnat."  
  
Mokuba struggled wildly. "Let me go!!" he screamed.  
  
"Oh, why of course," was the man's disturbing answer, and then he threw Mokuba over the edge of the pier into the water! 


	4. At the Docks

Shadi materialized slowly at the docks and narrowed his eyes as he looked at the scene before him. Mokuba flailed in the harsh water helplessly, screaming for Seto or Marik or someone to come to his aid. Shadi was about to do exactly that when Seto came running from around a corner and looked down over the pier. "Mokuba!" the blue-eyed boy yelled, leaning down and grabbing for him. "Take my hand!"  
  
Shakily the younger boy snatched his brother's wrists and held on tight as he was pulled up onto the docks. He lay gasping for breath on the pier and then grinned up at Seto. "Thanks, big brother," he said finally.  
  
Seto smiled and took his trenchcoat off for Mokuba to wrap himself up in. "Now, what happened to you?" the young man asked seriously.  
  
"Someone picked me up and . . . and they threw me overboard!" Mokuba replied, wringing his hair out.  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes. "They did what?!"  
  
Quickly Mokuba explained everything that had happened to him while Seto listened grimly.  
  
"The guy's gone now," Mokuba realized, looking around. "And he must've taken those weird crates with him!"  
  
"Could you see what was in them?" Seto asked.  
  
Mokuba paused. "Well . . ." He scratched his head. "They . . . they actually looked like . . . like coffins."  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow. "Crates that looked that coffins?" he said, trying to understand.  
  
"Uh huh. I know it sounds crazy, but . . ."  
  
Seto sighed. "After everything we've seen, what's one more crazy thing?" he said resignedly.  
  
Shadi, unseen by either of them, melted into the shadows once more. Perhaps the child is not exaggerating in what he says, the Egyptian man said to himself. He hadn't seen the crates himself, but he trusted Mokuba's word in the matter.  
  
"Meow?"  
  
Blinking, Shadi looked down to see Oreo sitting on the dock and staring up at him with bright yellow eyes.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Shadi asked calmly, certain that the cat could understand him. After all, he knew something about her that no one else did.  
  
"Meow," Oreo replied simply, swishing her tail around. She rubbed up against his legs blissfully, letting out a loud purr.  
  
"Shadi?"  
  
He turned, seeing Alyson looking up at him once more. She looked so happy to see him again so soon. She also looked as though she had something on her mind.  
  
"What is it, young one?" Shadi said kindly.  
  
Alyson paused for a good while. "Shadi . . . are you . . ." The little girl twisted the Ankh in her hands, longing to run into his arms and be held close. But . . . would she simply go through him? she wondered. Was he . . . was he a spirit? She had wanted to ask him earlier, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to do so.  
  
"Am I dead?" Shadi smiled softly. "No."  
  
Brightening, Alyson ran forward and hugged him tightly, a gesture which her friend returned. "I thought you were dead," she sobbed. "I thought . . . I thought that terrible man killed you!"  
  
Shadi shook his head. "I survived and I was healed, but I cannot explain it all to you at this point, little one."  
  
Alyson looked up at him. "That's okay," she said happily, just so immensely glad that he was alright.  
  
Shadi gazed at Alyson for a while, his blue eyes filled with many emotions. At long last he released her from his grasp and turned to leave. "Stay on your guard, Alyson," he said quietly. "I will be in touch." He nodded to someone behind the little girl and then disappeared again.  
  
Alyson turned around to see Tristan there, looking white as a sheet. "Was . . . was that . . . ?!" he gasped.  
  
"Yep!" Alyson chirped joyously. "He's okay!"  
  
Tristan stared. "But . . . but that's impossible!" he cried.  
  
Alyson giggled. "No it's not, 'cause he was here!"  
  
Oreo yawned nonchalantly and stood on her hind legs, peering into a crate.  
  
"What do you see, kitty?" Alyson asked.  
  
Oreo gave a loud meow and dove in, returning soon with a fish.  
  
"Oh man! All that cat can think about is food!" Tristan remarked, throwing his hands up in the air. "I was hoping she'd found a clue!"  
  
"Meow," Oreo said reprovingly, dropping the fish at his feet. To Tristan's and Alyson's shock, a diamond rolled out of its mouth.  
  
"What the heck is that?!" Joey exclaimed, suddenly appearing out of nowhere.  
  
"A diamond," Tristan replied, bending down to pick it up.  
  
"Eh?" Joey blinked.  
  
"That fish must've had some serious heartburn," Tristan remarked.  
  
"Is this what the cat brought us out here for?!" Joey cried. "A fish with a diamond?!"  
  
Oreo meowed again as if to say, "No!!"  
  
"Maybe she led us here because of Shadi," Tristan suggested seriously.  
  
"Holy cow, Tristan, have you gone nuts?!" Joey burst out.  
  
Tristan shook his head firmly. "Joey, he's come back from the dead!" he said. "I saw him!"  
  
Alyson watched them nonchalantly, scooping Oreo up into her arms. "He was here," she smiled, stroking the soft fur between the cat's eyes.  
  
Shadi, observing from behind a corner, slowly pulled out the Millennium Scales. I cannot have them revealing my whereabouts at this time, he said to himself. It would be extremely dangerous for their welfare to do so. He closed his eyes in concentration, quietly and purposefully uttering, "Erase their memories of what they have seen tonight!"  
  
The Scales glowed brightly and Joey and Tristan suddenly blinked in surprise and confusion.  
  
"Man, what just happened?!" Joey exclaimed.  
  
"I don't know," Tristan said, staring at their surroundings. "What are we even doing here in the first place?!"  
  
Alyson giggled at them and glanced over to where Shadi had concealed himself. He gave her a slight smile before vanishing into the shadows.  
  
Joey turned to glare at Oreo. "What kinda wild goose chase have you been leadin' us on?!" he cried.  
  
Oreo yawned lazily.  
  
****  
  
Yami Bakura ran down the dock, his hair flying out as he cursed his luck. "Blasted cat!" he yelled aloud.  
  
Abruptly he stopped, staring ahead at something strange.  
  
"Yami?"  
  
The thief whirled around to face Bakura, who stared at him in confusion.  
  
"Yami, what do you see?!" the boy asked.  
  
Yami Bakura grunted. "Nothing, you dolt," he replied.  
  
"Yami, I know it was something," Bakura said firmly. "You looked so startled!"  
  
"I saw nothing," Yami Bakura retorted again, not about to tell Bakura of the disturbing sight he had just witnessed. There's no point in upsetting the poor fool, he said to himself.  
  
****  
  
"Kaiba!"  
  
Seto looked up to see Yugi and his Yami coming toward him and Mokuba.  
  
"Kaiba, what happened?!" Yugi exclaimed.  
  
Seto snarled. "Someone threw Mokuba into the water," he replied. "And they're gonna regret it."  
  
Mokuba, still wrapped in Seto's trenchcoat, shivered violently as his older brother stood up with him. "We . . . we've gotta try to find those crates!" he cried.  
  
"What crates?" Yami Yugi wanted to know.  
  
Quickly Mokuba explained about them again as they all walked back up the pier. "I know I saw them!" he insisted. "Hey, there's one over there!!"  
  
All of them turned to look in the direction Mokuba was pointing. Indeed, there was a crate propped up against the wall of a building.  
  
Yugi gasped as he saw it. "It . . . it looks like a coffin!" he burst out as they ran over.  
  
"Yes," Yami Yugi said slowly. "And perhaps the resemblance is more than simply looks."  
  
Seto saw what the Pharaoh was referring to first and tried to shift Mokuba so he wouldn't see.  
  
"Oh!!!" Yugi screamed.  
  
"What is it, Seto?!" Mokuba demanded. "I wanna see!"  
  
Yugi looked up at his Yami, shaking uncontrollably as he tried to ban the image from his mind of the limp, bloodied hand hanging out of the crate.  
  
"This is very grave," Yami Yugi said grimly.  
  
****  
  
In the meantime, the Ishtars were having an unpleasant encounter.  
  
"Hey, pretty lady," a wicked voice called.  
  
Ishizu slowly turned to face a sneering, rugged bully. "Yes?" she said calmly.  
  
"I can't see you from that angle. Come closer," the man grinned.  
  
Ishizu narrowed her eyes. "I don't think so," she replied.  
  
"I said, come closer!" the man growled, lunging at her.  
  
Instantly Marik and Rishid appeared on other side of their sister. "You will not lay even one of your filthy fingers on her," Marik hissed.  
  
Their adversary straightened up, looking amused. "Traveling with bodyguards, are you?" he said to Ishizu.  
  
"They are my brothers," Ishizu retorted.  
  
"Well, now, isn't that just too sweet!" The man grabbed for Marik, who dodged and delivered a harsh kick to his middle section.  
  
Marik stepped back, allowing him to double over in pain. "You will never do anything to Ishizu as long as we are here," he hissed.  
  
"Oh yeah?" The man abruptly lashed out, punching Marik harshly in the nose.  
  
"Marik!!" Ishizu cried, running to her younger brother as he suddenly crumpled to the ground and sat down hard in a daze.  
  
Rishid moved forward now, wrenching their assailant's arm around. "Leave this place," he growled. "Leave and cease to prey on the women who come here."  
  
"And what if I don't?" the villain shot back.  
  
"Then you will suffer my wrath," Rishid responded. "I will not allow you to harm those I love."  
  
Ishizu put her arm around Marik tenderly, watching as Rishid proceeded to fight with the other man.  
  
"Rishid, look out!!" Marik cried, his eyes widening as the scruffy character pulled out a ninja weapon and prepared to wield it at Rishid.  
  
The Egyptian man grabbed the weapon just in time and held it tightly. "It will not be that easy to vanquish me," he warned.  
  
"Oh yeah?" the villain grinned. "Take this!!" He moved with lightning fast speed, intending to strike Rishid with a dagger he held in his hand.  
  
Undaunted, Rishid grabbed the man's wrist and squeezed painfully, forcing him to let go of the dagger.  
  
"Hey! Let go of me!" he screamed, kicking Rishid on the shin.  
  
Rishid only tightened his grip. "I've had enough of your shenanigans," he said sternly, delivering a knock-out punch.  
  
Marik smirked.  
  
"What is this?" Ishizu exclaimed suddenly, bending down to pick something up that had apparently dropped from the man's pocket.  
  
"Good heavens," Marik muttered, peering over her shoulder.  
  
It was a picture of the Ishtars with Yugi and all the others at the airport. A large red "X" stretched across the length of the picture and "DIE!!!" was printed angrily at the bottom! 


	5. Old Enemies

Marik snatched the picture from Ishizu for a closer look. "This was taken using one of the airport's security cameras!" he declared, pointing to some numbers and very fine writing in the right-hand corner.  
  
Rishid narrowed his eyes. "If someone who has access to the security cameras is stalking us, they must be in some position of power at the airport," he decided. "But we have never been here before. How would we have collected enemies already, unless . . ."  
  
". . . Unless the one stalking us here rubs elbows with some of our old enemies," Marik finished grimly.  
  
Ishizu stood up slowly, touching her Millennium Tauk. "I foresee many dangers ahead," she said quietly, "with both new adversaries and returning ones. And . . ." The woman gasped, her eyes widening.  
  
"Sister, what is it?!" Marik exclaimed.  
  
Ishizu laid her hand on his shoulder. "Do you recall when the Pharaoh said that Lorelei and Lou were attempting to take the life forces of two powerful beings?"  
  
Marik blinked. "Y-yes . . . of course," he said slowly. "That's why they tried to kill Yami Bakura."  
  
"That is correct." Ishizu lowered her gaze. "And it was also one of the main reasons that they . . . they murdered Shadi."  
  
Marik hugged his sister gently, trying to offer comfort.  
  
"Now . . ." Ishizu paused, returning the embrace and smiling slightly before sobering again, "now . . . I have just seen a vision that someone else has risen to power amidst the remaining great evil left over from the ranch and they . . ." She motioned for Rishid to come over as well, which he did. "They want to spill the blood of two people who once did many wrongs but later repented and returned to the side of good."  
  
Marik raised an eyebrow. "What exactly for, sister?" he wanted to know.  
  
"They have found an ancient summoning spell used by unspeakable evil," Ishizu said solemnly. "Completing the treachery of this spell would enable them to release a power just as fearsome and horrible as the Egyptian God Monsters."  
  
"And they want our brother for this madness?!" Rishid cried in anger.  
  
"Yes," Ishizu replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "And Seto Kaiba as well."  
  
****  
  
Yami Yugi, meanwhile, was going over to the crate to investigate the terrible sight of the bloodied hand. Yugi looked away, unable to stomach the thought that there was a dead person in the chest.  
  
"What's going on, Seto?!" Mokuba pleaded again, trying to twist around and look.  
  
Seto shook his head. "Nothing that concerns you, kid," he replied. "And now we need to get you back to the hotel and into some dry clothes."  
  
Mokuba sighed in resignation, knowing that his brother was right about that. He shivered slightly, burrowing deeper into the folds of the trenchcoat.  
  
As Seto walked off with Mokuba in his arms, they suddenly encountered the Ishtars, who were still puzzling over the picture and becoming highly upset as Ishizu told of her vision.  
  
"Hey! What's going on?!" Mokuba called, seeing that something wasn't right.  
  
Everyone looked up. Ishizu gazed at Seto gravely, her blue eyes boring into his. "Kaiba," she said in a soft voice.  
  
Seto grunted, not appreciating her piercing stare.  
  
"After you take Mokuba back to the hotel and help him, I must speak with you alone," Ishizu said solemnly, falling into step beside him.  
  
Marik, meanwhile, was helping Rishid restrain their previously kayoed assailant, who had just woken up and wasn't cooperating. "Hold still!" the boy hissed. "We are taking you to the police, and you will answer what we want to know!"  
  
"You can try to take me to the police," the obnoxious man grinned, "but they'll never hold me in a cell!"  
  
Rishid grunted as he was punched in the stomach. "And why is that?" he demanded.  
  
"Oh . . . I just have a few tricks, thanks to a little help from my friends," the villain replied, shoving both Rishid and Marik hard into a stack of crates.  
  
Ishizu turned to look, furious at this person for hurting her brothers.  
  
"Marik!!" Mokuba yelled, trying to get down from Seto's grasp. "Are you okay?!"  
  
Marik pushed a crate off his chest and stood up shakily. "I am fine," he said, lashing out and delivering another violent kick to their enemy. Seto offered his assistance as well, tripping the man when he swayed in confusion and shock from Marik's attack.  
  
Rishid got up then and applied the final blow, striking the other man directly in the face as he went down.  
  
"What a jerk!" Mokuba remarked in disgust. "Why's he going after you guys anyway?"  
  
Marik sighed. "We don't know," he admitted. "But it was very deliberate." He idly fingered the picture in his pocket.  
  
Rishid bent down to grab the person again. Abruptly he gave a cry of pain and fell backwards, sprawling hard on the dock.  
  
Marik gasped in alarm and knelt next to him. "Rishid?! Rishid, what happened?!" he exclaimed.  
  
Rishid struggled to get back up. "Master Marik . . . I . . . I was given an electrical shock," he said at last.  
  
"What?!" Marik said in disbelief.  
  
Rishid rubbed his forehead. "I . . . I can't explain it. . . . That man . . . he . . . he shocked me somehow!"  
  
"That's ridiculous," Seto snorted.  
  
The villain, still laying flat on his back, started to laugh. "Don't be so quick to dispute things, Seto Kaiba. I've been granted my special powers once again!"  
  
Mokuba blinked. "How do you know my brother's name?!" he demanded.  
  
Raucous laughing was his answer. "Oh, I remember many of you," he replied. With a snap of his fingers he had suddenly changed into an exact replica of Marik.  
  
Ishizu gasped. "Who are you? What are you attempting to do?" she wanted to know.  
  
Rishid stared, breathing heavily. "I . . . I remember him," he said low. "I remember him now. . . ."  
  
Marik clenched his fists. "I do as well," he growled. "That creature tried to murder Rishid!!"  
  
Ishizu clapped a hand to her mouth. "You?!" she cried, staring at Marik's double. "You were the one who . . . who tried to commit that abomination?!"  
  
He leered up at her. "Yes, I tried to," he replied, making his voice sound like Marik's. "But this fool intervened."  
  
Instantly Marik's fist connected with his jaw. "Shut up," he hissed. "Stop using my voice and my appearance for your evil schemes!"  
  
The man grunted, rubbing at his chin in irritation. He then looked up and nonchalantly blasted Marik back against Rishid, who was still sitting on the dock.  
  
"I'm so much stronger now," he cackled. "Thanks to my newly re-found powers none of you will ever be able to win again!"  
  
"Marik!!" Mokuba shrieked, again struggling to get down. Seto continued to keep a firm hold on him, however, not wanting him to get hurt by this strange person.  
  
Marik groaned, slumping in his older brother's arms. He struggled to open his eyes again and glared daggers at his wicked imposter. "Why were you suddenly allowed to have these powers now?!" he choked out.  
  
"You'd have to ask my master about that," came the reply. "I'm not about to question it."  
  
Ishizu knelt next to her brothers in alarm. "Are you both alright?" she asked.  
  
"We are fine, sister," Marik smiled weakly.  
  
"Well, you won't be for long," the double grinned maniacally.  
  
Without warning a gold beam of light shot out from behind a crate and struck the wicked man directly, causing him to scream in pain and agony.  
  
"Just wait," he gasped as he began to vanish, "I'll be back! And then I will have my final revenge!"  
  
When he was gone, Mokuba let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. "I thought he'd never leave!" the boy cried. "But . . . how did he?"  
  
Everyone looked around for the source of the light but found nothing. Whatever—or whoever—had been there earlier had vanished now.  
  
"I am thankful to whoever that was," Ishizu said quietly, giving both Marik and Rishid a gentle hug. "So very thankful . . ."  
  
"What was going on here, anyway?" Seto asked coldly. "Who was that person?"  
  
Marik took a deep breath. "Well . . . you remember our escapade in San Francisco," he said slowly as he shakily stood up and helped Rishid do the same.  
  
Seto looked irritated. "How could I forget?" he said loudly.  
  
"Rishid nearly died there," Marik said softly. "He . . . he was stabbed in the chest with a machete. And it was that monster who did it." Unconsciously he tightly grabbed his brother's hand.  
  
Mokuba narrowed his eyes. "Yeah? Well, we've gotta catch that guy before he hurts someone else!"  
  
"He has been sent into another dimension, most likely the Shadow Realm," Ishizu told them. "But I do not doubt that he will return, just as he promised."  
  
Marik gazed at the picture again, looking angry. "What I want to know is, Is he the one who took this, or is someone else working undercover at the airport?"  
  
"I have the unpleasant feeling that we're going to find out," Seto said stiffly.  
  
****  
  
Meanwhile, Mako was leading a group that consisted of himself, Mai, Rex, and Serenity down a pier when they suddenly encountered Yami Yugi trying to open the strange crate to look inside. Yugi now stood to the side, wanting to look away but unable to tear his eyes from the sight.  
  
"What happened here?" Mako demanded.  
  
Serenity blinked, staring at the crate. Abruptly she let out a horrified shriek, seeing the hand.  
  
Yami Yugi seemed not to notice her presence as he finally managed to get the heavy lid raised up all the way. His eyes widened in surprise. "Duke Devlin!" he cried.  
  
"OH!!!" Yugi gasped, his violet eyes mirroring his absolute horror.  
  
Mako narrowed his eyes, pulling her back. "I would advise you not to look, Serenity," he said softly.  
  
Serenity stood, shaking all over at the news that it was Duke's body laying in the crate. "But . . . but I . . . I was just talking to him not more than an hour ago! He . . . he can't be . . ."  
  
Yami Yugi leaned down into the crate, examining the boy's tortured form.  
  
"Yami . . . what . . . what happened to him?!" Yugi choked out.  
  
The Pharaoh bit his lip, reluctant to reply. Carefully he reached inside and began to pull Duke out.   
  
Mako gently turned Serenity away and she wrapped her arms around him for comfort. Ever since she had been able to hang out with her brother and all of his friends, she had been getting into dangerous situations and was forced to see and hear things that she never would have imagined before from her sheltered life. She wouldn't trade being with her brother for anything, but still she couldn't stand all these horrors.  
  
Yugi watched in wide-eyed alarm as his Yami propped Duke's bloodied body up against the outside of the crate. "Yami, is he . . . is he actually . . ."  
  
Yami Yugi was about to answer when Duke stirred and moaned, raising his hand up to rub at his aching head.  
  
Instantly Serenity perked up, joyously looking over at her friend. "Duke!" she exclaimed, running over. "You're okay!"  
  
Duke seemed to not hear her. He weakly pulled his knees up to his chest and leaned forward, opening his eyes blearily and letting out a raspy breath.  
  
"Duke!" Yugi cried. "What happened to you?!"  
  
The raven-haired boy blinked up at him and then turned away, coughing violently. "Honestly," he said at last, "is this the sort of thing you guys go through on a regular basis?!"  
  
Yugi scratched the back of his neck. "Well . . . I'm afraid so," he admitted.  
  
Duke groaned.  
  
"Are you badly hurt?" Yami Yugi demanded sternly.  
  
Now Duke paused, considering. "No . . . no, I'm fine," he said at last, seeing how worried and upset Serenity looked.  
  
"Fine?" Rex repeated. "Man, you looked dead!! If that's your idea of fine, I'd hate to see your idea of 'badly hurt'!!"  
  
Duke shot him a look of pure annoyance. "As you can see, I'm very much alive."  
  
"But what did happen, Duke?!" Yugi pleaded to know.  
  
The other boy closed his eyes and rubbed his hand over them. "I don't remember for sure. . . . An ambush of some sort. . . . About five creeps all ganged up on me!"  
  
"But why, Duke?!" Serenity gasped.  
  
Duke looked up at her. "They said something about a shipment . . . and that I was messing it up. . . . Then they said something really weird."  
  
"What did they say, Duke?" Yami Yugi wanted to know, speaking forcefully and urgently.  
  
Duke brushed the long locks away from his face and tried to remember. "They . . . they said that it was almost the full moon, and that if they didn't unleash their beast by then it'd be too late!" 


	6. Stakeouts

"The full moon?!" Yugi repeated in astonishment.  
  
"That's what they said," Duke told him.  
  
Yami Yugi stared up at the moon, deep in thought. "The full moon . . . what is it they could be releasing?!" he mused.  
  
"Werewolves?" Rex suggested. "They're supposed to come out at the full moon!"  
  
"Werewolves?!" Joey cried in alarm as he, Tristan, and Alyson—who was struggling to carry Oreo—approached.  
  
"Who said anything about werewolves?!" Tristan wanted to know.  
  
"Oh come on," Mai sighed. "Werewolves don't exist!"  
  
"Hey," Rex shrugged, "after everything we've seen that 'wasn't supposed to exist' it's hard to figure out what's just phony!"  
  
"There truly are werewolves," Yami Yugi said after a pause. "But somehow I do not believe that they are what was being talked about."  
  
Joey blinked, his gaze suddenly turning to Duke, who was still curled up against the crate and trying to collect his bearings. "What the heck happened to you, man?!" he burst out. "You look like something Oreo dragged in!"  
  
Oreo gave a loud meow of protest.  
  
Duke grunted at Joey in annoyance. "If you were viciously ambushed by half a dozen thugs and left for dead in a crate, I doubt you'd look any better."  
  
Joey's eyes widened. "What??!!"  
  
"Joey, Duke was hurt!" Serenity cried. "He was beaten up terribly!"  
  
That was when Bakura and his Yami came upon the scene. "Oh my!" Bakura gasped, looking at Duke in horror.  
  
Yami Bakura grunted, not really caring one way or the other.  
  
Seeing him, Oreo meowed happily and leaped out of Alyson's arms, bounding over to her tomb raider and giving a loud purr.  
  
"You absurd feline!" Yami Bakura snapped. "What in the name of Heaven did you bring us all out here for?!"  
  
"Meow," Oreo replied, whipping her tail around his leg.  
  
Slowly Duke tried to stand. "The jerks who attacked me are long gone by now. Let's get out of here!" His vision swam and he swayed backward, nearly falling before Joey caught him.  
  
"Whoa, man, you're in no condition to do anything but rest!" the blonde boy cried.  
  
"I'll rest at the hotel," Duke replied firmly. "I'm not staying here!"  
  
"Okay," Joey shrugged, "but you'll need help getting back there."  
  
Duke sighed loudly but didn't protest, knowing that Joey was right.  
  
Joey and Mako began helping their friend along and they all started out again, hoping to be able to find the others before too much time had passed.  
  
"What happened here?!" Téa cried, appearing out of seemingly nowhere.  
  
"I was ambushed," Duke said, tired of explaining.  
  
"Meow," Oreo said simply.  
  
****  
  
Eventually everyone found everyone else again and they all returned to the hotel.  
  
Mokuba shivered as he changed into dry clothes. "Now I know how you must've felt," he said to Marik with a lopsided grin, referring to when Marik had been thrown over the waterfall back at the Black Diamond Ranch.  
  
Marik chuckled. "It's certainly no picnic," he declared, helping the younger boy wrap a blanket around his shoulders.  
  
Out in the living room part, Seto listened as Ishizu told him of her vision and what she knew was going to happen.  
  
"So basically what you're saying is that someone is after Marik and me because they want to offer us up to bring forth some great power." Seto crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.  
  
Ishizu nodded. "You are both in very grave danger."  
  
Seto grunted. "Just more of your psychic nonsense. Do you really expect me to believe that we're being hounded by a group of blood-thirsty nutcases who want to sacrifice us both, like in that first virtual reality game? We're not on some desert island with heathens and head-hunters. We're in the middle of Boston!!"  
  
"This is not psychic nonsense," Ishizu said sternly. "After all that you have seen, you should know that the supernatural does exist."  
  
Seto turned to look out the window and didn't answer.  
  
"You cannot bury your head in the sand and ignore this," Ishizu continued. "I know you do not believe me now, but you may have to learn the hard way." She paused. "They will do anything to get at you. I do not doubt that they might do something to Mokuba in order to set a trap for you."  
  
Seto tensed at that. "That's not gonna happen."  
  
"Then take heed of my warning," Ishizu answered softly.  
  
****  
  
Shadi, invisible to all, stood out on the balcony and listened to them talking. "Ishizu is correct, Seto Kaiba," he said stonily. "If you wish to protect young Mokuba, you must accept that she is not telling you nonsense."  
  
Seto, still standing at the window, suddenly froze. "Did you hear that?!"  
  
Ishizu looked at him in confusion. "I heard nothing."  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes and looked out on the balcony. Shadi looked back at him, but since he had become invisible, Seto didn't see him. He did feel the other man's eyes on him, however, and this quite disturbed him.  
  
"There's someone out there," the brown-haired boy growled.  
  
Puzzled, Ishizu came over and looked out as well. "I see no one," she proclaimed.  
  
Shadi closed his eyes and sighed to himself. Forgive me, Ishizu, he said silently. I wish I could let you know that I am alive, but it would be too dangerous. The only reason I was able to let Alyson know is because it will help her when she needs to use my Millennium Ankh. I promise I will tell you as soon as I possibly can, my dear friend. With that the guardian vanished from the balcony, leaving a very unsettled Seto Kaiba behind.  
  
Now the young businessman grunted in irritation. "I know someone was there," he muttered, turning away from the window and crossing his arms.  
  
Rishid, who had been silent throughout all of this, suddenly spoke up. "Lady Ishizu, it is almost two o'clock," he said quietly.  
  
Ishizu paused, considering. "Well, I am sure we are all agreed that this meeting is some sort of trap set by the enemy," she replied slowly, "but perhaps we should try to beat them at their own game." She gave a secretive smile. "Someone should maybe try to spy on them and see what sort of villains we are up against."  
  
"I would be most happy to do this, Lady Ishizu," Rishid said almost instantaneously. He was willing to do anything at any time to protect the ones he loved so dearly.  
  
Ishizu patted his arm. She knew that Rishid would probably be the most logical one to go, since he was such a strong fighter and could most likely overpower the thugs in the event that a battle would take place. But she still worried. "Do be careful, brother," she pleaded softly. "Remember what Kamara told us about these people. They are ruthless!"  
  
"I will be fine," Rishid promised.  
  
Seto looked back and forth between them. "What's all this about a meeting at two in the morning?" he demanded. Quickly Ishizu explained about Viper's visit and the strange Kamara girl while Seto listened attentively. "I see," he said at last. "Well, I'm supposing this perhaps has a connection with this other . . . information you've been giving me."  
  
"Most likely," Ishizu replied.  
  
Marik peeked out of the bedroom where he had been playing Monster Capsule with Mokuba. "If Rishid is going tonight, I am going as well," he said firmly.  
  
Rishid looked at him worriedly. "But Master Marik . . ."  
  
"Hey, I don't want to be left out of things!" Mokuba whined, also coming to the door.  
  
Seto held up his hands for silence. "Let's get something straight here," he called in his commanding voice. "Mokuba is not going under any circumstances. And what's more . . ." He paused for effect. "What if these people know this is some kind of a trap? Maybe they want to draw us away from the room so that they can get in at Ishizu."  
  
"Ishizu could stay here until they get back!" Mokuba chirped. "And maybe we could set up some kinda decoy in her room incase those jerks do try to get in!"  
  
"A decoy, eh?" Marik looked thoughtful. "I think we could work something out to that effect."  
  
****  
  
Before long they had enlisted the help of Mako, Joey, and Tristan, who were all more than willing to fight if necessary.  
  
"Now," Seto directed, "you three are to stay hidden in Ishizu's room where you can watch the door. If someone comes in you don't recognize, jump them and force them to the floor."  
  
"Meantime," Mokuba smiled, "Ishizu will stay safe in our room!"  
  
"And Rishid, Kaiba, and I will investigate outside," Marik finished.  
  
"Sure thing," Joey grinned. "Those crooks will never know what hit 'em!" He cracked his knuckles loudly.  
  
"I do trust you won't mess things up, Wheeler," Seto grunted as he turned to the door.  
  
"Hey!!" Joey yelled indignantly. "Everything will go smooth as clockwork! You just try not to come back beat up worse than Duke!"  
  
"Seto's not gonna get beat up!!" Mokuba yelled loudly over the rising voices of the two older boys.  
  
"Of course he won't," Marik reassured him. "None of us will."  
  
****  
  
Before long, Seto and the two Ishtar brothers were hiding outside the hotel in the brush, well concealed from anyone's view.  
  
"Do you see anyone?" Marik asked Rishid, parting the bushes just slightly.  
  
"I see no one, Master Marik," Rishid replied solemnly, narrowing his eyes.  
  
Marik looked at him with a smile. "Rishid, really, I wish you wouldn't call me that. I am not your master."  
  
Rishid sighed and averted his eyes. They had had this conversation many times in the past. "I know. . . . But it is so hard to break the habit. . . ."  
  
Marik squeezed his hand. "What Father did to you was atrocious and wicked. I understand how you are feeling, my brother, and I will help you get over it. Father will not succeed in what he tried to do."  
  
Rishid smiled back at last and squeezed Marik's hand in return, so thankful for his precious brother and for Ishizu as well.  
  
Seto, who was stationed a bit ahead of them, suddenly came to attention as he spotted several shadowy figures concealing themselves under the awning of the hotel. "It seems they're here," he said.  
  
The Ishtars perked up as well and looked over.  
  
"I recognize one of them," Marik said slowly, "but I can't place who he is."  
  
Rishid narrowed his eyes. "That is Seth," he proclaimed. "If he stepped into the light, or if you came over here, brother, you could see him better."  
  
Seto clenched his fists in pure frustration. What was Seth doing here?! he screamed in his mind.  
  
Without warning something cold and metallic was pressed against Rishid's shoulder blades. "Hello, darling," a frightfully familiar voice purred.  
  
Marik's blood ran chill. He would know that voice anywhere. And by the way Rishid and Seto looked, they would too—and did.  
  
"Vivalene!" they all cried at once.  
  
****  
  
Yugi helped Duke to lay down on the bed in his room. "Are you sure you're okay?" the violet-eyed boy asked worriedly.  
  
Duke grunted. "Yugi, I told you I was," he said, wincing as he did so.  
  
"You sound just like Kaiba," Rex remarked.  
  
Duke laid an arm across his eyes, accidentally displaying several bad bruises for the other boys to see.  
  
Yugi's eyes went wide. "At any rate, Duke, you must be awfully sore!" he exclaimed.  
  
"I'll live," Duke mumbled.  
  
Bakura went into the bathroom and quickly came back with a first aid kit. Despite Duke's protests the brown-eyed boy carefully began tending to the many bruises and wounds adorning his body. "There," Bakura said in his soft voice when he was done, and smiled.  
  
Duke rubbed his eyes. "I could've taken care of it. But thanks anyway," he added.  
  
Rex wandered over near the door. "I wonder how the stakeouts are going," he mused.  
  
"I don't know," Yugi said slowly, "but I hope everyone's okay."  
  
****  
  
It just so happened that Joey's stakeout wasn't going much better than Seto's.  
  
"Hey," Tristan said suddenly, "did you hear that? Someone's trying to open the door!"  
  
"What?!" Joey immediately came to attention.  
  
"Be quiet, both of you!" Mako reprimanded. "We want them to come in and not be scared off!"  
  
All the teens became silent as the door slowly began to creak open. A stream of light poured in from the hall and a shadow filled the doorway.  
  
"Now!" Joey yelled, charging forward with Tristan and Mako in hot pursuit. As they brought the intruder to the floor, they made a startling discovery.  
  
"Wait a minute!" Tristan cried. "You're Alyson's grandmother!!"  
  
Instantly all three of them were thrown back as the elderly woman got to her feet, no longer needing her wheelchair. "Am I?" she cackled in an eerie, echoing voice.  
  
"Hey!!" Joey exclaimed. "What's goin' on here?!"  
  
"What's going on?" the woman sneered. "What's going on is that all of you fools are about to meet your doom!" 


	7. Evil Plots

"DOOM?!" Joey burst out.  
  
"One of my least favorite words," Tristan muttered.  
  
The woman only laughed at them and began to hover several feet in the air. "I can understand why," she smirked.  
  
"Grandma?!" Alyson's voice shrieked in horror from the hall, where the little girl had heard all the commotion and had come to see what was going on.  
  
"This is not your grandmother, Alyson!" Mako shouted. "This is a very dangerous woman and you shouldn't be here!"  
  
Abruptly the threatening imposter turned and spotted the terrified girl standing right behind her. "Well, well," she purred. "Isn't this just so quaint?"  
  
"Alyson. Use the Ankh."  
  
Alyson froze, hearing Shadi's voice in her ear. Shakily she brought the golden object up to her eye level and pointed it at the villainess, obvious fear showing on her face. "I . . . I can't do this," she gulped. "My Grandma . . ."  
  
"That thing isn't your grandma!!" Joey yelled.  
  
The woman only crossed her arms, daring Alyson to attack her. "Do you believe him, child?" she asked.  
  
Alyson swallowed hard and continued to point the Ankh at her. It dawned on her then that she didn't even know how to use this strange magical artifact. How would she ever be able to complete what Shadi wanted?!  
  
Before she could ponder more, Joey, Tristan, and Mako all tackled the woman once more and brought her to the floor.  
  
"Never let yourself get distracted, as Kaiba would say," Joey grinned.  
  
The woman growled furiously, trying to get up. Knowing what to expect, her three captors refused to budge.  
  
"Go get the Pharaoh!" Tristan yelled to Alyson. "He'll know what to do!"  
  
"O-okay," Alyson nodded, hurrying off.  
  
****  
  
Seto gave Vivalene a scathing look full of pure hatred. "Just what are you doing here?" he demanded.  
  
"And why are you pointing a gun at my brother?!" Marik screamed.  
  
The red-haired woman tsk-tsked them in reply. "Oh, now, you don't think I'd actually shoot him, do you?" To pretend to prove her point, she carefully removed the gun and squeezed Rishid's shoulder. "There now. You're free, darling. That was just a little joke."  
  
Rishid turned to face her, his expression a storm cloud. "You treacherous creature!" he said low. "After all the things you have done to Marik and Kaiba and all the others, you dare to show your face to us again?!"  
  
Vivalene gave a droll laugh. "You know I have no shame, my dear Rishid," she smirked.  
  
Marik grabbed her wrist. "Tell us what you want before I send you to the Shadow Realm where you belong!" he hissed.  
  
"My, my. Such a temper!" Vivalene scolded whimsically.  
  
Seto snarled. "I just thought of who you remind me of," he remarked.  
  
Vivalene raised her eyebrows. "Yes?"  
  
"You're a female Maximillion Pegasus," Seto replied flatly.  
  
Vivalene seemed to find this extremely hilarious. She laughed for nearly a full minute, all the while not appearing to care that Marik was still clutching her wrist.  
  
Rishid suddenly gasped, his eyes widening.  
  
"What is it, my brother?!" Marik cried, turning to look at him.  
  
Rishid reached up to place his hand over where the gun had been only a moment before. "I . . . I do not know," he managed to say. "Something . . . something strange is happening to me . . ."  
  
Marik gripped Vivalene's wrist all the more painfully. "You devil!! What did you do—poison him?!"  
  
Vivalene pouted. "Now, really. Of course I didn't!"  
  
"Then what did you do?" Seto asked, realizing that she had done something.  
  
The evil woman twirled her gun around in a Clint Eastwood manner. "Well," she said deliberately, "I just needed to . . . take care of some business. And dear Rishid is the perfect puppet to do my bidding. As for you, Seto Kaiba . . . well, I have something else in store for you."  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes. "If you even think of harming Mokuba, I'll . . ."  
  
"Mokuba?" Vivalene interrupted. "That brat? No thank you."  
  
Seto emitted a low growl at Vivalene's name-calling, while Marik dug his fingernails into the woman's arm.  
  
"Tell us what's going on!" the Egyptian boy said through gritted teeth.  
  
Vivalene snapped her fingers and half a dozen thugs descended upon Seto. "I'll let them take care of that fool," she said, standing up and dragging Marik with her. "Come, Rishid."  
  
To Marik's astonishment, Rishid froze and a blank look came over him as he stood and began to blindly follow after them. At Vivalene's orders, he suddenly grabbed Marik and began to pull him along with them as they went.  
  
"Rishid?!" the boy cried.  
  
"He can't hear you," Vivalene smirked. "He's mine now, thanks to this!" She reached down into her blouse and pulled out a charm consisting of two snakes intertwined and hissing. "What I injected him with is a special venom that's inside this curious piece of workmanship dating back to three thousand B.C. It's not poisonous, but . . ." She laughed merrily. "It does put him under my control, with no way out."  
  
Marik gave a cry of anguish. "You are wrong!" he screamed. "Rishid can hear me, and he will fight against you to the very death!"  
  
"Oh?" Seth said calmly, stepping out from the shadows. "Let's prove it then. There shall be a fight to the death. Yours!"  
  
****  
  
Meanwhile, Seto was busy grappling with the six thugs Vivalene had sicced on him. He kicked one in the stomach and another across the back. The third one lunged from behind, but the swift boy karate-chopped him on the jaw before he could be attacked. He then rapidly tripped the fourth one, whacked the fifth with his briefcase, and judo-flipped the sixth.  
  
"Heh. You're all pathetic excuses for fighters," he smirked then, looking down at them all. The young businessman purposefully dusted himself off and straightened his trenchcoat before continuing on his way.  
  
Abruptly a seventh bully charged him from out of nowhere, but he soon met as unfortunate a fate as his buddies had. Seto easily side-stepped him and then delivered a painful punch to the back of his neck, sending him into an unconscious state.  
  
It suddenly dawned on Seto that Vivalene must have known that he would be able to easily defeat all of her cronies. She had just wanted to keep him busy! But what was she doing to the others in the meantime? And was Mokuba safe?  
  
Seto didn't waste a minute to find out. Quickly he pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number for their hotel room.  
  
Before long Mokuba answered with a cheery hello. "Big brother!" he exclaimed in delight when he realized who was calling. "Are you okay?"  
  
Seto paused to punch an eighth bad guy in the nose. "Just fine," he smirked before sobering. "Unfortunately, Vivalene's here and she's done something to Rishid. I'm not sure what."  
  
"Vivalene?!" Mokuba let out a loud groan. "Not her again!!"  
  
"Believe me, I feel your frustration, kid," Seto declared. "Look, be sure to keep the doors and windows locked. And don't let anyone in unless you're one hundred percent sure who it is."  
  
"Okay," Mokuba said agreeably. "Oh wait . . . Ishizu says someone's on the balcony!" he cried then.  
  
Instantly Seto came to attention. "What?!" he said sternly.  
  
"Seto, someone's breaking in!!" Mokuba burst out then. The sound of shattering glass was very obvious in the background. "Big brother!!" There was a woman's scream and then the line went dead.  
  
Seto turned chalk white. "Mokuba?! MOKUBA!!!" he yelled into the phone, without response. With a last glance back in the direction Vivalene had gone with the Ishtar brothers, Seto ran for the hotel. He'd call the police to check up on them and just hope that they could hold their own in the meantime. Right now he had to save his little brother!  
  
****  
  
Téa paced the floor of the room where nearly half their group had gathered. "I . . . I don't know," she said slowly. "I . . . I just feel like . . . like something terrible is going to happen!"  
  
"What, are you becoming psychic like that Egyptian lady?" Rex asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Oh, put a sock in it," Mai snapped in reply.  
  
"I have felt a disturbance as well," Yami Yugi said gravely just as Alyson burst into the room.  
  
"Mr. Pharaoh, sir!!" she shrieked.  
  
Instantly everyone turned to look at her.  
  
"What is it?" Yami Yugi asked in concern.  
  
Shakily Alyson explained what was happening just down the hall. "Joey, Tristan, and Mako are trying to hold her down, but I don't know how long they can!" she finished.  
  
Yami Yugi immediately headed for the door. "This could be very serious," he said.  
  
"And it no doubt is," Yami Bakura put in.  
  
"Tomb raider, I'm leaving you in charge here," Yami Yugi said as he disappeared down the hall with Alyson. "Don't foul anything up!"  
  
Yami Bakura grunted and only continued to pet his cat.  
  
Yugi, in the meantime, was in the bedroom watching Duke worriedly. The dark-haired boy was tossing and turning about, mumbling something about the full moon and burial at sea. Obviously he seemed to be recalling more of his grisly experience.  
  
"Duke!!" Yugi exclaimed. "Duke, wake up!!"  
  
The other boy didn't at first and then abruptly rolled out of bed with a thump and crashed on the floor. He gave a moan of pain as he was jerked back into the realm of awareness and then struggled to get his bearings.  
  
"Are you okay?!" Yugi said, wide-eyed.  
  
Duke blinked up at him. "Yeah . . . yeah, I'm fine," he replied at last with a sigh.  
  
****  
  
Vivalene stopped in a nearby field and smiled. "Yes . . . yes, this should do nicely," she said. "We shouldn't be interrupted here."  
  
Rishid roughly threw Marik down on the grass and then towered over him dangerously. Suddenly he gave a slight smile and Marik's eyes widened in understanding. Rishid was pretending!  
  
Vivalene didn't notice. Crossing her arms, she prepared for what she had planned. "Well, Rishid, why not just attack dear Marik now?" she said sadistically.  
  
Rishid abruptly lunged and shoved her against a tree. "Perhaps because I would rather make certain that you get your comeuppance," he hissed.  
  
"Oh!" Vivalene exclaimed, seeming to be surprised. Then her face twisted into a wicked sneer. "Seth, do your duty," she commanded.  
  
Marik briefly wondered why Seth was working with Vivalene again after she had nearly killed him back in Frisco, but then his thoughts were interrupted as he went completely stiff, unable to move. "What are you doing?!" he cried, trying in vain to tear free.  
  
Rishid turned to look, his eyes wide in horror. "Marik!!" he screamed.  
  
Seth grinned. "You think this is good? Wait till you see what Vifa's got planned for you!"  
  
Vivalene was concentrating hard, willing her charm to glow bright red. "Perhaps you were faking control earlier," she growled, "but this time it shall be impossible!"  
  
Rishid suddenly gave a gasp of agony as overwhelming pain came over him.  
  
Vivalene sneered as Rishid struggled against the bewitching powers of her charm. "It's truly hopeless, darling," she purred. "Even if you can resist for a time, you will eventually fall prey to its effects, just like all the others." She pretended to think. "Hmmm. Then I could simply lead you to your death, couldn't I?"  
  
Rishid knelt on the ground, shuddering and shaking as he tried so desperately to keep control of his mind and body.  
  
Marik, still frozen to the spot by Seth's evil magic, frantically tried to extricate himself as he watched his brother's agony. "RISHID!!" he screamed. "Fight it, Rishid!!"  
  
Vivalene watched in amusement. "Remember when I tried to brainwash you, Rishid?" she said now. "Oh, but of course, how could you forget? After what I nearly made you do to poor precious Marik."  
  
"I . . . I could never . . . never harm him," Rishid retorted, clutching at clumps of grass as the pain wracked through his veins.  
  
"Never?" Vivalene pursed her lips. "I should like to put that to the test."  
  
"No!!" Marik yelled, trying again to tear free. "No, you cannot torment him that way! Rishid doesn't deserve that, you witch!"  
  
Vivalene simply began turning up the power on her charm. "Well, I don't often give people what they deserve, now, do I?" she smirked. "You know, this intriguing pendant's abilities actually rival that of the Millennium Rod's. I daresay it could be even more deadly and dangerous."  
  
Rishid gave a cry of agony and suddenly froze, his body going rigid at Vivalene's command. This time he truly was under her control.  
  
"Ha! You see?" the evil woman laughed. "Now he is at my mercy, and heaven knows I don't have any!"  
  
Marik concentrated hard, slowly managing to wrench his right arm out of the grasp of Seth's dark magic. "Rishid will never listen to you, not even under your treacherous control!" he cried.  
  
"Well, he may not want to, but I don't think he really has a choice in the matter," Vivalene sneered, making a motion as if she was kicking something. Rishid doubled over in pain, obviously feeling the effects of her imaginary blow.  
  
"Rishid!!!" Marik screamed again, finally tearing himself completely free and running over. "Brother!!!" The teenager knelt down next to the adopted sibling he loved so much, his hands shaking. "Rishid, what has she done to you?!"  
  
Rishid looked up at him, his golden eyes cold and blank. There was no recognition in them. He might as well have been looking at a stone.  
  
Marik's heart thumped angrily as he raised his eyes to glare daggers at the evil woman standing before him. "No," he uttered low. "NO!!!!"  
  
Vivalene cackled. "Let's try this again. Rishid, destroy that brother you love so much!" she ordered, her pendant glowing deep red. She brought her hands together as if about to choke something.  
  
Emotionlessly the Egyptian man lunged at Marik, dragging him to the ground. Marik struggled in vain, not wanting to ever hurt Rishid—not even to save himself. "Fight this, Rishid!!" the boy yelled, his blood running cold as Rishid's strong fingers wrapped around his throat.  
  
A prisoner in his own mind, Rishid was forced to watch, helpless, as he began choking the life out of his younger brother. "NO!!!!" he screamed. "No, I will not do this!!!! Stop!!! STOP!!!" In desperation he shoved at the invisible walls, trying to break them down. He had to get out! He had to stop this!! Marik would die if he didn't!  
  
Marik gasped, his lavender eyes widening as his breath left him. "Rishid. . . . Rishid . . . fight this . . . brother . . . please . . ." Black spots began to appear in front of his vision as he was deprived of the oxygen he so badly needed in order to survive. "Rishid . . ."  
  
"It's useless!" Vivalene cried.  
  
Marik's pained voice ripped at Rishid's heart as he continued to wrestle with the unmoving walls. Now the boy was obviously barely clinging to consciousness as he frantically yanked at Rishid's unmoving hands. "Rishid . . . don't," he pleaded. "Please let go. . . . I can't breathe, Rishid!!" he cried. "I . . . I can't . . ."  
  
"MARIK!!!" Rishid shouted, his voice reverberating off the walls. At last he managed to tear through the barriers locking him in and regain control of his body, fighting desperately once more against the pull of Vivalene's charm. "I . . . I will not . . . give in to this," he vowed, letting go of Marik's neck with tremendous effort.  
  
Vivalene was momentarily startled, but then only laughed. "You broke free," she mused, "but it's a bit too late, wouldn't you say?" She pointed at Marik's body, now lifelessly laying in Rishid's arms. "You killed him."  
  
Rishid looked down at Marik in utter horror. "No," he whispered. "No . . . no . . . this . . . this isn't possible!! No . . . Marik . . . no . . ." Shakily he reached out and touched his younger brother's cool cheek.  
  
"He couldn't get enough oxygen to breathe," Vivalene said flippantly. "It is a pity." Smirking, she turned and began to sashay away, Seth in tow. "You did exactly what we wanted you to, with my gentle guidance, of course. Poor Rishid, strangling your own brother. I don't think you deserve to be his brother, do you?"  
  
"Be silent," Rishid hissed, pulling Marik's body close to his heart as tears streamed down his face.  
  
"Well, I do still need your brother's body for the little scheme I'm involved with," Vivalene said now, "but I suppose I can allow you some time to mourn his death. Oh, aren't I just generous now?"  
  
"It is because of you this happened!" Rishid replied with conviction. "You did this!!"  
  
Vivalene pointed to herself in a "who, me?" gesture. "I? I am the one who choked him to death? Forgive me, darling, but whose hands were wrapped around the poor thing's neck?"  
  
Rishid laid Marik down and frantically bent over his pale form, trying so hard to restore breath to the boy he loved so dearly. He narrowed his eyes, willing Vivalene's words to bounce away harmlessly—but they would not. It had been he who had pressed against Marik's throat, cutting off his air supply. It had been he who had mercilessly let his brother pass into oblivion from lack of oxygen.  
  
But no! Those had only been his body's actions, manipulated by Vivalene's evil desires. He himself . . . why, he had been fighting so hard to regain control! If he had been able to prevent this, he would have gone so far as to give his own life to do so.  
  
The conflicting emotions surged through Rishid's veins as he continued vainly to apply artificial respiration. At last he leaned back and gathered the much-too-limp body into his arms once again. "Marik . . . you did not deserve this," he whispered, choking on his words. "You did not!! If only . . . if only . . ." He trailed off. Vivalene was right! He didn't deserve to be Marik's brother. He didn't even deserve to be so much as a servant! Look at what he had done! Marik was so still . . . so like a ragdoll. . . .   
  
Rishid couldn't bear this. Burying his face in Marik's soft blonde hair, the Egyptian man began to sob. 


	8. Surprises

In the meantime, Duke was still puzzling over his dreams while Yugi stood by, watching him.  
  
"You say I said what?!" the emerald-eyed boy gasped.  
  
Yugi scratched his cheek. "You said something about burial at sea," he replied, frightening thoughts dancing through his head.  
  
Duke winced. "When I was being beaten unconscious, I overheard them saying that they were going to lock me in the crate and then throw it in the water," he stated.  
  
Yugi's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Oh!!!" he gasped.  
  
Duke shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. "It didn't happen, Yugi. I'm fine, even if I don't look it."  
  
"I know, but still . . ." Yugi visibly shuddered. "Just the thought of it . . ."  
  
Duke smirked weakly. "Not the most appealing way to go."  
  
Yugi remember the other strange crates Mokuba had talked about. Suddenly an alarming possibility occurred to him. "Duke!" he burst out. "What if . . . what if those crates Mokuba thought looked like coffins . . . really were?" He whispered the last two words.  
  
Duke's eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't put it past them," he uttered softly.  
  
****  
  
Seto burst through into the room he shared with his little brother, calling for him desperately. The entire suite looked as though a tornado had blown right through the middle of it. Furniture was overturned, lamps were shattered, and there was a red substance on the walls that looked frighteningly like blood.  
  
"What's . . . happened in here?!" Seto breathed, narrowing his eyes in anger at the sight of the mess. Where was Mokuba?!  
  
A low moan came from behind the upsidedown couch and Seto immediately whirled to look. Ishizu was laying on the floor, her eyes closed. She seemed to be bleeding from a painful-looking cut on her neck.  
  
Muttering to himself, Seto knelt down and gently shook Ishizu on the shoulder. "What happened?!" he demanded.  
  
Ishizu moaned again and tried to open her eyes. "Kaiba . . . Mokuba is . . . he's . . ." She looked confused.  
  
"Where is he?!" Seto said furiously.  
  
Ishizu winced, touching the cut on her neck. "He . . . he . . ."  
  
Before she could struggle to explain, a wicked laugh ricocheted around the room. "Oh, he's right here, Seto Kaiba."  
  
Immediately Seto whirled around to see an unfamiliar person clutching his brother out over the balcony. Mokuba was gagged, but his eyes were full of terror as he stared at the concrete far below.  
  
"MOKUBA!!!" Seto screamed, going to run forward.  
  
"Kaiba . . . it's . . . a trap," Ishizu tried to say. "It's . . . dangerous . . ."  
  
"The beautiful lady is quite right, Seto Kaiba," Mokuba's captor sneered, holding the little boy out farther.  
  
Mokuba struggled vainly, managing to bite through the gag. "Seto!!! They want you, big brother!!!" he yelled. "Don't go with them, Seto!! Please!! Please don't!!"  
  
Seto clenched his fists. "I'm the one you want. Leave Mokuba out of this!"  
  
The man laughed. "Well, that wouldn't be as much fun, would it? After all, this is the perfect way to force you into doing what we want."  
  
Seto had the horrible feeling that this man planned to drop Mokuba whether he agreed to go with them or not. He stared at the scene before him in frustration, narrowing his eyes. "Fine. I'll go with you. But only if you put my brother safely back here in the room," he added.  
  
"Oh, you're so predictable, Seto Kaiba," the villain snickered.  
  
Instantly half a dozen other thugs started surrounding Seto, each one looking more fearsome than the last, and all of them looking harder to beat by far than any of Vivalene's goons.  
  
Seto glared. "You said you'd let Mokuba go," he growled. "Safely!"  
  
Mokuba continued to struggle. "SETO!!! NO, you CAN'T go with them!!!" he wailed.  
  
Ishizu slowly pulled herself to her feet, watching the scene and trying to think of something she could do. No one was paying any attention to her. If only there was a way she could do something to help Mokuba!  
  
Without warning the man holding Mokuba was suddenly yanked forward by seemingly nothing and he gave a cry of horror. "There's a ghost in here!" he screamed, throwing Mokuba into the room, where he crashed right against the head thug and knocked him to the floor.  
  
Seto smirked. "Well, any ghost that frees my brother from your filthy grasp is welcome here," he said, delivering a painful karate chop to another thug's midsection.  
  
Ishizu managed to get a chair directly in the path of another criminal Seto was soon fighting with. The man went sprawling backwards over it, enabling Seto to get the upper hand.  
  
"Get Mokuba out of here!" the teenage boy growled.  
  
"But Seto . . .!!" Mokuba tried to protest.  
  
"NOW!" Seto yelled sternly, leaving no room for arguments.  
  
Swiftly Ishizu took Mokuba by the hand and led him off, despite his struggling and objecting.  
  
"I have to help Seto!!" Mokuba wailed, grabbing at Ishizu's wrist and trying to pull himself free.  
  
"Your brother will be fine," Ishizu told him, though inwardly she wasn't completely sure of that. "He would not want you to assist him here. Now come." In her heart she could understand the boy's torment, as she knew exactly how she would feel if she witnessed Marik or Rishid in trouble and couldn't help them. But she also knew that Mokuba might be harmed if he stayed and even that he might get used against his brother once again. The most important thing to Seto Kaiba right now was for Mokuba to be kept safe.  
  
Instantly Ishizu's Millennium Tauk glowed brightly and the woman gasped as she began to have a short vision. In it, she saw another gang waiting right outside the door. She knew that if she and Mokuba left via that door, they would both be captured and used to lure Seto and Marik into danger.  
  
"Seto!!" Mokuba screamed again, watching as his brother was thrown forcefully back against the wall.  
  
Ishizu bit her lip. "Come," she said quietly, leading Mokuba into the small bathroom. "Look for the button that sounds the alarm," the woman directed. "In a case such as this, I do not think the hotel manager would complain if we used it."  
  
"Alright," Mokuba agreed shakily, beginning the search. After a moment he grinned triumphantly. "Here!" he cried, pressing the red button with gusto.  
  
A horrible wail sounded throughout the hotel, startling everyone there.  
  
The main bully beating up on Seto froze, cursing inwardly. "That woman and the stupid kid!" he realized. "We should've killed them both! Now the place will be swarming with security guards and police any second!"  
  
Seto brought a lamp down on his attacker's head. "Oh?" he said calmly. "Well, that's really what happens when you break the law. And I swear I'll throw the book at you for what you tried to do to my brother."  
  
The man groaned dizzily. "I hope the book isn't as heavy as that lamp," he slurred, slumping to the floor.  
  
Seto stood over him and then kicked backward, knocking one of the others off his feet without even looking. "No one defies the Kaibas and gets away with it," he muttered.  
  
****  
  
Rishid continued to cradle Marik's still body, rocking back and forth slightly. How could this have happened? How could Vivalene have just taken control of his body so fast? He hadn't even had the chance to resist! And now . . . now, because of that, Marik was . . . he was . . .  
  
Suddenly the boy gave a weak moan and shuddered, not quite comprehending where he was or what was happening around him. His emotions were so muddled, so confused. . . . All he could remember were cold eyes boring into his. Strong hands trying to squeeze the life out of him. It had been Rishid who had done it. Rishid . . . his brother . . . his precious brother!  
  
Rishid nearly dropped Marik from shock when he felt him move and then he shakily pulled back to look at him. "Master Marik?!" he cried, reverting back to his old habit of addressing the boy by that title.  
  
"Rishid . . ." Marik wheezed now in delirium, "Rishid . . . please . . . don't hurt me again. . . . Please don't . . ." Had he known what he was saying, he never would have dreamed of uttering it. Rishid was innocent, he knew. Vivalene had done this. Not Rishid.  
  
Tears spilled over Rishid's cheeks as he again enveloped Marik in his arms. "Forgive me, Master," he begged. "Please forgive me . . . I . . . I couldn't control it . . . I tried so hard to stop it. . . . I never wanted harm to befall you. . . . I never did. . . . I would gladly die for you . . . and instead . . . I have nearly caused your own death!"  
  
Marik blinked as the tears splashed against his eyelids and struggled to focus, gulping in the welcome air. "Rishid . . ." He fumbled with his words, unable to string them together the way he wanted.  
  
"I am not worthy to even be your servant," Rishid said quietly, Marik's father's evil remarks echoing painfully in his mind. It seemed that every single thing he had ever said to Rishid was intensified now, making it almost unbearable to stand.  
  
These words brought Marik at last to full awareness. "Rishid, no!!" he cried, grabbing at the man's dark cloak. "Rishid, I know you couldn't control it! Please, brother, please do not blame yourself!! Vivalene is the one to blame!! She caused this! She controlled your body so you would attack me, but it wasn't you, Rishid!! I know it wasn't you!!"  
  
Rishid stared at him wordlessly, many emotions coursing through his golden eyes. He barely even heard Marik now, as the elder Ishtar's expressions of anger and hatred were hammering so very loudly in the corridors of his mind that it was almost impossible to concentrate on anything else.  
  
"Rishid?" Marik's voice dropped to a whisper and a tear fell onto his brother's hand. "Rishid . . . don't call yourself a servant. You are not one!! Rishid . . . please . . ." He was openly crying now, distressed and concerned that he had had some part in Rishid's broken behavior. "You're my brother!!" the teenager screamed now. "Rishid, YOU ARE MY BROTHER!!!" He grabbed the man and embraced him tightly, the sobs wracking his body. "I never want to hear you call yourself a servant again!! Do you hear me? NEVER!!"  
  
At last Marik penetrated Rishid's confusion and despair. The golden-eyed Egyptian looked up, again gazing into the soft, earnest, lavender orbs of this boy he had sworn to always protect. Slowly the wicked, untrue statements of their father were pushed away, replaced by Marik's forceful, sincere screams of "YOU ARE MY BROTHER!!!"  
  
And it was true, Rishid realized. He was Marik's brother. He had always been Marik's brother. No matter what happened, no matter what others tried to say or do to destroy it, they would always be brothers, forever more! No amount of evil, cruel, heartless people's actions would ever change that. Marik loved him! He would always love him! And Rishid loved him as well.  
  
Shakily Rishid reached out and grabbed Marik, holding him close. He clung to the boy for dear life, praying that they would never be separated, not in this life or the next. "Marik," he said finally, his words shining and clear, "Marik . . . my dear brother. . . . My precious brother. . . ."  
  
Marik looked up at Rishid with joy. "Yes, Rishid!" he cried with a smile. "Yes!! We are brothers. Not master and servant, but equals!! Friends! Brothers!!"  
  
"Brothers," Rishid repeated, also smiling.  
  
How little Vivalene knows about true family, Marik thought to himself then. She thinks that everyone is as treacherous and unforgiving as she is. But that couldn't be further from the truth. Rishid, Ishizu, and I are a true family. We love each other more than anything and would each be willing to die if it meant the others would live. We would never betray each other or dream of deliberately doing anything to hurt one another in any way. I know Rishid would never purposely do a thing to bring harm to Ishizu or me. He has always only been good and kind and loyal.  
  
Rishid was having similar thoughts. Perhaps someday Vivalene will learn the truth, he mused silently, his heart swelling with joy. Perhaps someday she will learn that her wicked plots shall never tear a true, loving family apart. Marik and Ishizu truly care for me, and I them. And our relationships shall never be changed. He felt almost awed, as if he were just becoming acutely aware of all this now. As he looked at his younger brother again, he felt a heavy burden being lifted from his heart. Their father's words bothered him no longer. Marik didn't believe them; he saw them for what they honestly were—despicable and evil and untrue. And now, Rishid could finally put them behind him as well.  
  
Father never accepted Rishid into our family, Marik remembered, but then . . . he didn't understand what a true family was either. Rishid will always be a part of the true Ishtar family, whether Father likes it or not!  
  
They embraced again, two brothers reunited on the battlefield of life—never to be separated.  
  
****  
  
When Yami Yugi and Alyson arrived back at the place where Joey, Tristan, and Mako had been holding the strange woman down, they found only destruction and chaos—and three very dazed boys.  
  
"Man, is it just me or are there four of you, Yug?" Joey mumbled from where he was sprawled upsidedown.  
  
Yami Yugi shook his head. "I am not Yugi," he replied, helping Joey up.  
  
Joey blinked at him. "That woman's powers are out of this world!" he cried now as Tristan and Mako slowly got up as well.  
  
"Where is she?" Yami Yugi wanted to know.  
  
"She's gone, unfortunately," Mako said slowly.  
  
"Can't anyone explain what's goin' on here?!" Joey wailed.  
  
"Perhaps I can."  
  
Everyone looked up at the sound of the new voice. A strange, middle-aged, bespectacled man was standing there, watching them.  
  
"And who the heck are you?" Joey wanted to know.  
  
"Martin Collsworth," was the reply. "I hear you've been looking for me." 


	9. Shootout

"Martin Collsworth?!" Yami Yugi cried in astonishment.  
  
"How the heck did you find out about us?!" Joey demanded.  
  
Mako stood silently, gazing at the newcomer with hope. Could he actually know where my father is? he wondered. Is it at all possible that . . . that . . .  
  
He was interrupted as Martin spoke again.  
  
"A . . . mutual friend—did she say her name was Viper?—found where I'd been hiding and told me some tale about a young girl named Kamara who needed my help. She also said that you all need my help as well." The man raised an eyebrow in apparent confusion.  
  
Yami Yugi narrowed his eyes. "Well, it's true—we came here seeking your assistance on a . . . family matter. I believe you once knew our friend Marik Ishtar?"  
  
Martin looked thoughtful. "Marik Ishtar. . . . Marik Ishtar. . . ." He stared at the floor, as if it could help him remember. "Oh! I recall a boy from Egypt named that. . . . Blonde hair . . . lavender eyes . . . wears a lot of jewelry. . . . He had a very . . . unique voice. . . ."  
  
"Sounds like him," Joey said. "Eh, where'd you know him from?"  
  
"His sister used to do work for me concerning my museum," Martin replied. "She identified many ancient artifacts I had and more importantly, she made me aware that the supernatural is real. Marik often came with her." He paused, trying to remember something else. "Oh yes, and they were always accompanied by a tough-looking guy who had hieroglyphics tattooed into the left side of his face. I remember thinking, Now, I don't want to make him angry." Martin chuckled at that.  
  
"Yes, that would be their brother Rishid," Mako spoke up.  
  
"Ah. . . . That's right," Martin nodded. "Ishizu introduced me to both him and Marik." He looked at Mako curiously. "And who are you, young man?"  
  
"Tsunami," Mako replied. "Mako Tsunami." He held his hand out and Martin shook it.  
  
"I'm glad to meet you, Mr. Tsunami," the man declared. "Now, is there something I can do for you?"  
  
Mako hesitated for a moment now and then plunged in. "Well, sir, I do hope so. You see, I have been searching for my father for years and recently I met someone who said I needed to find the Ishtars and a man named Martin Collsworth and that they and you would be able to help me find him."  
  
Martin blinked. "Well, I'll help if I can, Mr. Tsunami," he said.  
  
****  
  
Seto was having a much harder time defeating these thugs than he'd had defeating the ones sent by Vivalene. As he grimly realized, these bullies were much stronger and meant business.  
  
Ishizu watched from her vantage point, her eyes narrowed. He needs help, she surmised, wondering why it was taking so long for the security guards to come.  
  
Gingerly she touched the cut on her neck. The leader of the assassins had been trying to slit her throat, but she had managed to dodge in time and was only grazed on the right side of her neck. She had been very blessed, she knew. It had almost been as if someone had helped to push her out of the way in time.  
  
Now she came back to the present, tipping the couch over and crashing it into five more intruders.  
  
Mokuba grinned, leaping down on another's head. "You're gonna pay for what you did to me and my brother!" he yelled.  
  
"Get away, you little gnat!" the villain hissed.  
  
Instantly Mokuba recognized the voice as belonging to the man who had thrown him into the water. "Hey!!" he cried. "You'd better tell us what was in those crates down at the docks!"  
  
"Wouldn't you like to know," the man sneered, making a move to throw Mokuba out through the window.  
  
Instantly Seto was there, punching him viciously. The bully gasped, swaying dizzily. Mokuba kicked him and jumped down, glaring furiously.  
  
"Well?" the boy demanded. "Are you gonna tell us or not?!"  
  
At that moment there came a dark, ominous light illuminating from the balcony. "This is not the right time to go after them," an eerie voice snarled. "Come with me now!"  
  
All the hitmen came to attention, heading for the balcony as if in a trance.  
  
Seto watched them in disbelief. "What the . . . where do you think you're going?! Come back!!" he ordered, grabbing at one in vain as he entered a vortex and vanished.  
  
Mokuba gawked at the disappearing men, his eyes wide. "Where'd they all go?!" he burst out.  
  
Ishizu closed her eyes. "Through a secret portal, back to their master," she replied at last.  
  
Seto growled in annoyance.  
  
****  
  
Mai crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. "What's taking so long?!" she cried in irritation. Yami Yugi had been gone for ages and no one knew what was happening. But they had some guesses.  
  
"Maybe he hit a snag and got into trouble," Rex said, also looking irritated.  
  
"Do you always have to be so positive?" Mai retorted sarcastically.  
  
"Hey, you're sure a basket of smiles yourself," Rex grunted.  
  
"SILENCE!!" Yami Bakura screamed. He had been listening to them argue for hours and he was growing more sick of it by the minute.  
  
Both Rex and Mai glared at him but then shut up and engaged in an intense staring contest with each other. Téa was reminded of the expression If looks could kill.  
  
"Those two really go at it," Yugi exclaimed. "You'd think they haven't ever gotten over Duelist Kingdom!"  
  
"I don't think they have," Téa sighed.  
  
"Oh dear," Bakura said with a blink.  
  
Oreo chose this moment to meow loudly, begging for meat and some of Yami Bakura's chocolate milk.  
  
"Cat! You already ate nearly that entire ham at dinner!" the thief growled.  
  
"Meooow!" Oreo howled.  
  
Yami Bakura narrowed his eyes at the racket and carried the cat to the small fridge in the corner. "Don't take it all," he hissed.  
  
Oreo grabbed for a piece of beef that had been sent up by room service and bit down happily.  
  
Yami Bakura grumbled something and turned away, taking a long swig from his bottle of chocolate milk.  
  
"He really loves Oreo, you know," Bakura smiled.  
  
Yami Bakura gave him a smoldering look.  
  
****  
  
Rishid gazed at his brother in concern as they remained on the grassy field. "Are you certain you are alright?" he asked.  
  
Marik smiled. "I'm fine, Rishid," he insisted, absentmindedly removing his choker and rubbing at the red marks on his throat.  
  
Rishid looked shamed. "Brother, I . . ."  
  
Marik shook his head. "Really, I am," he reassured the man who was nine years his senior, realizing what he was going to say. "This was not your fault." Quickly he replaced his jewelry and tried to stand, wobbling as he did so.  
  
Rishid rushed to catch him. "Brother, you are too weak to walk without assistance," he said softly.  
  
"Nonsense," Marik replied, taking a step more and feeling dizzy. He placed a hand to his forehead and winced. Nearly being strangled really takes it out of you, he thought to himself.  
  
"Marik, you almost died," Rishid said now, noticing his brother's actions. Even though Marik didn't blame him, Rishid still felt understandably terrible about what had transpired. "Please . . . allow me to help you!"  
  
Marik paused. Rishid was obviously trying to make up for earlier, even though Marik deemed it completely unnecessary.  
  
"Brother . . . if anything more happens to you now, I . . . I don't see how I will bear it," Rishid said quietly.  
  
At last Marik relented. "Alright," he agreed, admitting to himself that he did feel weak.  
  
Gently Rishid draped Marik's arm over his shoulder, allowing the boy to lean against him, and turned to head back for the hotel. Marik started to doze briefly as they went on, feeling completely safe and secure with his older brother. "Rishid . . ." he murmured sleepily, smiling as he looked up at his dear, closest friend.  
  
Rishid smiled back. How he loved this boy so. . . . Years ago he had vowed to always protect him. But he hadn't been able to this night.  
  
Sensing his thoughts, Marik looked into his eyes firmly. "Rishid, you broke the control just in time," he said in a soft tone. "You saved my life . . . and your own as well. That witch would have forced you to be her personal bodyguard if she had been able to get entire control over you, as she desired to. But she never could have done that."  
  
Again Rishid looked into Marik's fervent eyes. I wish I could believe that, brother, he uttered silently. But what if I *had* killed you?  
  
"Rishid," Marik spoke again, "a man of your strength and integrity never would have let that happen. Even while Vivalene was struggling to have control over you, you were fighting to regain that control. Don't you see? Since you would never kill anyone, your will was stronger than Vivalene's and so I remain alive!"  
  
Rishid blinked. Was that possible? he wondered. "But Marik . . . you were so lifeless by the time I was able to release your neck from my grip. . . . You were not breathing! If it had been only a minute or two later . . ." He trailed off, unable to finish.  
  
"But it wasn't," Marik whispered. "Rishid, you must believe me, brother. You saved my life. Vivalene is the one who tried to kill me. But you intervened."  
  
Now the man pulled his precious sibling close to him. "I want to believe it, Marik," he said aloud. "I don't want to ever think that I failed you in any way . . . especially in something so extremely serious as the matter of your life."  
  
"You never have, my brother," Marik smiled gently.  
  
Rishid stared off into the distance. Perhaps Marik is right, he said silently. I pray he is.  
  
****  
  
Martin waited to explain his story until they were back with the others. When Yami Yugi walked in the door with him, Joey, Tristan, Mako, and Alyson, everyone else looked up expectantly and all seemed confused at the stranger's presence.  
  
"Who, might I ask, is this?" Yami Bakura asked, staring intently.  
  
"This is Martin Collsworth," Yami Yugi replied.  
  
Oreo looked up briefly from her beef and decided that she wasn't interested in the conversation. With another meow she attacked the meat once more.  
  
"Martin Collsworth?" Téa exclaimed in disbelief. "But . . . how?"  
  
Yami Yugi quickly relayed the tale of how Martin had come to be there and then turned to him, crossing his arms. "Now, would you care to tell us more about this Kamara?" he asked.  
  
Martin nodded. "Very well. Viper said that it was alright to share the story with all of you." He told a story very similar to the one that the Ishtars had heard and then paused. "Kamara's plight is very grave," he said then. "These . . . pirates she's been running from are ones that I myself have been trying to catch for many ages. They are the reason I had to go into hiding for several months."  
  
"What is it they want?" Mai asked, wondering how this all connected with their current mystery.  
  
"They seem to be trying to release a horrible power," Martin replied after a short pause. "I don't entirely understand all of it, but I believe very strongly in the paranormal—and what these plunderers are after is certainly that."  
  
"What can we do?" Yugi cried, knowing that they had to help.  
  
"Well . . ." Martin paused. "I'm not entirely certain. I've been working very hard to collect enough evidence to put them away in prison for life. You do realize, of course, that the government isn't likely to believe some supernatural tale. I have to be able to find proof that will be accepted in the courts." He narrowed his eyes. "And I have actually found quite a bit."  
  
Mako stood by, wondering if his father could have become involved unwittingly in all of this.  
  
"Anyway," Martin hurried on now, "you might all benefit in coming with me to where I've been hiding and seeing what I've collected."  
  
"We would be most happy to," Ishizu spoke up, suddenly appearing in the doorway along with the Kaiba brothers. "Just as soon as I find my precious brothers and make certain they are safe."  
  
Martin turned in surprise. "Ms. Ishtar!" he exclaimed, obviously surprised to suddenly see Ishizu again.  
  
Ishizu gave him a brief nod and smile. "Hello, Mr. Collsworth," she said in greeting.  
  
"Sister?" Marik's voice called from the end of the hallway.  
  
Everyone turned to see him and Rishid coming towards them. Marik was feeling much less dizzy now and was walking without Rishid's assistance, and with the choker covering the telltale marks on his neck, it wasn't immediately clear to any of them that he had been through a trying experience.  
  
Except to Ishizu. "Brother, what has happened?!" she asked, touching his cheek and looking into his eyes.  
  
Marik smiled weakly. "We will tell you later, Ishizu," he replied softly, reaching up for her hand. He looked over at Martin and blinked in surprise, recognition dawning.  
  
"Well, good," Martin said, "we're all here. Shall we be off?"  
  
"Wait!" Yugi said suddenly. "Duke isn't well enough to come with us. Someone should stay with him."  
  
"Yeah? Well, it won't be Serenity!" Joey declared.  
  
"I'll stay with him," Tristan spoke up. And then I can have a good, long talk with him about how Serenity is *my* girl! he said to himself.  
  
With that settled, everyone else hurried out after Martin, warning Tristan to be extremely careful.  
  
****  
  
When they got outside, Martin started in shock. "What on earth!!"  
  
"Huh?" Yugi turned to look at him. "What is it?!"  
  
"That almost looks like one of the pirates going into the Prudential Building!" Martin replied, pointing ahead. "I had an old office in there!"  
  
"Sounds like something that needs investigatin'," Joey decided. "Let's go!"  
  
Quickly the group all hurried over to the Prudential Building and through the doors. "Where did he go?" Mai wondered. "I don't see anyone!"  
  
Abruptly gunshots rang out from a high balcony above the shopping plaza that was on the ground floor.  
  
"I don't believe this!" Téa shrieked. "Someone's shooting at us!!"  
  
"Everyone run for cover!" Yami Yugi yelled.  
  
"Hey, look out!!" Rex burst out suddenly, shoving Mai to the floor. A moment later he sprawled across her shoulder blades.  
  
"What are you doing?!" Mai cried, reaching up to push him away. "Rex, you jerk! Let me up before I . . ." She trailed off, staring at her blood-covered hand. "Huh?"  
  
Rex groaned but otherwise gave no indication that he'd actually heard the girl.  
  
Mai went pale. "Rex!! Rex!!!" She looked up at the others, panicked. "Rex was shot!!" she exclaimed in realization. 


	10. Out on a Ledge

Instantly everyone came to attention.  
  
"What?!" Yugi gasped, ducking behind a potted plant as the gunshots continued.  
  
"Rex was shot!!" Mai repeated desperately, trying to drag the short boy's body behind a desk.  
  
Yami Bakura grunted as a bullet went through his shoulder and then chose that moment to sic the Man-Eater Bug on the person firing at them. To his shock, the man only laughed and created a shield around himself.  
  
"I know all about your pathetic bug, tomb raider Bakaré!" he cried.  
  
Yami Bakura's eyes narrowed. "And how do you know of my name?!" he demanded.  
  
"Oh . . . secrets are not hidden in the sands of time, old fool," came the cackling reply.  
  
The thief hissed. "I am Bakaré the tomb raider no longer," he said coldly. "Bakaré died many millennia ago."  
  
"Did he now?" The figure on the balcony looked thoughtful. "Then why are you so determined to protect the feline curled up at your feet? Shouldn't you instead be wickedly throwing her into the line of fire?"  
  
"Silence, mortal fool!" Yami Bakura growled, scooping Oreo into his arms and holding her close.  
  
"So soft-hearted," the man taunted. "And so like Bakaré. He—or rather, you—had a cat back in Egypt, did you not?"  
  
Oreo hissed loudly at him, while Yami Bakura offered no answer.  
  
"Marik!! Be careful!!" Rishid yelled as the shooting resumed. He winced and cried out as another flying bullet barely missed Marik and tore against his arm instead.  
  
"Rishid!!" Marik gasped, staring in horror at his brother as he leaned back on the wall. "Oh Rishid . . ."  
  
The man smiled weakly. "I'm alright. It's only a flesh wound."  
  
Not wanting to take any chances, Marik quickly examined Rishid's bleeding arm and tried to apply a temporary bandage, all the while dodging gunshots buzzing around them.  
  
Yugi had ducked behind the desk and was trying to help Mai with Rex. "What happened?" the violet-eyed boy asked worriedly.  
  
"He . . . well . . ." Mai was clutching Rex's vest and looking flustered, very unlike her normal self. "I . . . I think he was trying to save me! He got shot in the back . . ." She trailed off.  
  
Yugi bit his lip. "Okay. Let's see here. . . ." Trying to keep calm for Mai's sake—and for Rex's as well—he hurriedly pulled the other boy's shirt off and stared at the wound.  
  
"Is it bad?" Mai wanted to know.  
  
"I . . . I'm not sure," Yugi admitted. "He needs help right away, from someone who can answer that. We have to call 911!"  
  
Mai fumbled in her purse and finally brought her cell phone out. Shakily she dialed the number and spoke to the operator.  
  
Meanwhile, Bakura was becoming more and more distressed as he watched the friends he cared for so dearly trying to avoid the bullets and sometimes not being able to. Finally he walked right into the line of fire, tears streaming from his eyes. "STOP!!" he screamed.  
  
The assassin raised the gun slowly to point at the boy's forehead. "You wanna die, kid? Be my guest!!"  
  
"Fine! Kill me!" Bakura sobbed. "Kill me and leave everyone else alone!! You've already hurt at least three of them!"  
  
"Get out of the way, you dolt!!" Yami Bakura hissed.  
  
The man lowered the gun suddenly, giving Bakura a thoughtful look. "Maybe I've done enough damage for now," he said. "All I want is all the evidence you've collected, Mr. Collsworth. And your research on ancient Egypt."  
  
Martin glared. "As if I would hand all that over to you!"  
  
"Well, if you don't . . . maybe some more of these poor fools will be sporting bullet holes," the hitman sneered. Without warning he raised the gun and fired, aiming for Bakura.  
  
"MEOOOOOOW!!!"  
  
Everyone looked up at the sound of the cat's yowl. Oreo had somehow wiggled away from Yami Bakura and was viciously attacking the thug, causing him to misfire and send the bullet into a nearly plate glass window.  
  
"CAT!!!!!!" Yami Bakura yelled, afraid that she would be shot. Bakura stared, ashen white.  
  
"This is the police!!! Hands up!!"  
  
Immediately everyone froze, watching in relief as half a dozen police officers trouped through the doors, their guns all trained on the man on the balcony, who dropped his own weapon in defeat. Oreo gave a meow of satisfaction and padded back to her beloved Yami Bakura.  
  
"What happened here?" one of the officers demanded.  
  
"That man was shooting at us!" Téa declared.  
  
As the police hurried to arrest the shootist, Bakura smiled happily and stroked Oreo's soft fur. "Thank you," he said quietly. "You saved my life!"  
  
Oreo purred loudly in bliss.  
  
****  
  
Shortly after the police's arrival, the paramedics came for Rex.  
  
"How is he?" Mai asked, watching as they examined the boy she so often argued with.  
  
"He doesn't seem to have any spinal damage," the young paramedic replied, "but he's lost a lot of blood. We'll have to get him to the hospital right away."  
  
Rishid was looked at as well, but to Marik's and Ishizu's relief, he truly hadn't been injured seriously. Quickly they both lovingly embraced their older brother, who smiled and returned the gesture.  
  
Mokuba watched and then hugged Seto with a grin, happy that he hadn't been hurt.  
  
Seto pulled Mokuba close to him and glared daggers at the hitman as he was escorted out. "If you don't have any luck questioning him, be assured that I'll come by later to do so," he told the officer in charge, who nodded agreeably.  
  
"I have the feeling he's gonna be tight-lipped about this. Any help you could give would be much appreciated, Mr. Kaiba," the policeman said.  
  
Meanwhile, the paramedics weren't having much luck examining Yami Bakura.  
  
"You absurd creatures, I'm fine!" the thief grunted.  
  
The EMT stared at his profusely bleeding shoulder. "Fine, are you?" he said in disbelief.  
  
"I've gone through much worse than this scratch," Yami Bakura responded. "I've survived repeatedly being stabbed by a javelin, an attack by my own Man-Eater Bug, and a poison that would have killed me within the hour, to name a few things. Therefore," he continued while the rescue team just gaped at him in a sort of awe, "I really don't think I have to worry about a minor injury such as this."  
  
Bakura had to chuckle at the paramedics' expressions, all the while cuddling Oreo.  
  
****  
  
Meanwhile, Tristan was pacing the floor and keeping watch over Duke, as he'd promised. He hoped Serenity was sleeping peacefully in her room and didn't have any knowledge of the latest disasters. If she knew that Joey and the others had all gone out with Martin Collsworth to his secret hiding place, she most definitely would have wanted to go along. And Tristan absolutely didn't want Serenity getting into any more dangerous situations.  
  
Duke stirred now, blinking up at Tristan. "What are you doing here?" he asked sleepily.  
  
"I'm gonna have a little chat with you," Tristan replied, crossing his arms. "I wanna get one thing straight with you, Duke Devlin—Serenity is mine!"  
  
"Huh?!" Duke sat straight up in bed, confused at this greeting.  
  
"You heard me," Tristan said. "I don't like the way you're always interfering when I'm trying to have a romantic moment with her!"  
  
Duke rubbed his right temple. "What brings this on now?" he wanted to know.  
  
"Because it's high-time I told you!" Tristan retorted, never finding it odd that he was bringing it up almost out of the clear blue.  
  
Duke shrugged. "Serenity doesn't seem to mind being around me," he smirked. "If you're so upset about this, maybe it's because you know she prefers me over you."  
  
This was obviously the wrong thing to say.  
  
"Serenity prefers me!!" Tristan yelled.  
  
"Oh really?" Calmly Duke got out of bed, swaying as he did so, and glared at the other boy. "Maybe we should simply call Serenity right now and ask her who she likes best."  
  
"Fine with me!" Tristan declared.  
  
Abruptly there was a loud clunk and both teenagers froze.  
  
"What was that?!" Duke demanded.  
  
"Whatever it was, I didn't like the sound of it," Tristan groaned.  
  
****  
  
It was only after the other members of the group had been at the hospital for a while when they realized that some of their friends were missing.  
  
"Hey!" Téa exclaimed. "Where's Yugi?!"  
  
Everyone looked around, startled at the realization that Yugi wasn't with them.  
  
"Oh dear!" Bakura gasped. "Not only is Yugi missing, but it seems that the Kaiba brothers are as well!"  
  
"What?!" Marik blinked in astonishment and looked about for his young friend Mokuba, only to find that he was, indeed, nowhere in sight.  
  
"They must all still be back at the Prudential Building!" Joey cried.  
  
"But why?!" Bakura wondered in confusion.  
  
"Heck, who knows!" Joey threw his hands up in frustration. "But maybe they're gettin' in some kinda scrape. Wouldn't surprise me!"  
  
"Well, we'll just have to go back and find them!" Téa said firmly.  
  
"You all go," Mai said softly. "I'm going to stay here and make sure Rex will be okay." She was still feeling extremely perplexed by the events of the past hour. Why had Rex saved her? The question plagued her mind so that she could barely think of anything else. All they ever did was squabble like a couple of immature kids. And Rex certainly had no reason to want to save her after everything that had happened at Duelist Kingdom.  
  
"Um . . ."  
  
Mai looked up to see a shy Bakura standing in front of her.  
  
"Would you like some company?" the boy asked softly. "This . . . this might take a while. . . ."  
  
Mai sighed but smiled. "Sure, hon," she replied, and Bakura sat down next to her.  
  
Yami Bakura narrowed his eyes. He didn't care about going to find the others, but he didn't really care about being here, either. Grunting, he sat down at the opposite end of the room with Oreo concealed in his shirt.  
  
****  
  
It was practically dawn by the time Téa led her exhausted group back into the Prudential Building.  
  
"I can't believe we've been up all night," she moaned.  
  
"Man, I'm gonna sleep all day," Joey vowed, letting loose with an enormous yawn.  
  
A policeman stopped them at the front desk. "Excuse me, kids, but this is a crime scene," he said.  
  
"We know," Téa told him, while Rishid raised an eyebrow and wondered whether the elderly officer was including him and Ishizu among the "kids."  
  
"We were victims of the crime," Marik added.  
  
The officer's eyes widened. "Oh!" he exclaimed. Blinking now, he asked what they were all doing back. Marik then explained that they were missing three of their friends and asked if he had seen them, by any chance.  
  
"I think I might've," a smooth voice spoke up.  
  
Everyone turned to see Viper standing there, her arms crossed.  
  
"Where did you come from?" Martin said in surprise. "You were supposed to be waiting back at the . . ."  
  
"Yeah, I know, but it was taking too long. I came to see what the hold-up was." Viper smiled, catching Rishid's eye. "Hey there," she said in a sultry tone.  
  
Rishid gave her a curt nod but didn't speak.  
  
Viper didn't seem to mind. "I like the strong, silent type," she purred, taking his arm.  
  
Rishid pulled it away. "You said you thought you had seen our comrades," he reminded her.  
  
"I think I did," Viper nodded. "Up on the observation deck. Come with me." She gestured for everyone to follow her, which they did.  
  
When they arrived on the observation deck, however, they were in for quite a shock. Yugi and Mokuba were standing way out on the ledge as if in a trance, and Seto Kaiba was watching them silently, not doing a thing to get them back on firm ground! 


	11. Shapeshifter

Téa's mouth dropped open. "Yugi!! Mokuba!!" she cried, standing still in horror. She was afraid to make any sudden movements in case they would become startled and lose their balance. "Kaiba!! Why don't you help them?!" she screamed.  
  
Seto remained stoic and unmoved as he continued to watch the two boys on the ledge.  
  
"Kaiba!!" Joey yelled angrily. "What's the matter with you?!"  
  
Slowly the brown-haired boy turned to face the others, a wicked sneer on his face. "Oh, well, I don't see any reason to do anything. They're doing exactly what I want."  
  
"WHAT??!!" came the collective gasp.  
  
Seto started to laugh. "You fools!" he burst out.  
  
"Hey!! You want a piece of me?!" Joey growled, charging forward. Seto blocked him easily and flipped him over his shoulder.  
  
"Stop this madness!" Marik said angrily. "Yugi and your younger brother are both in serious danger!!" It enraged him to no end to see two of his friends—one his very best friend—helplessly transfixed and apparently forced to stand on the narrow ledge. And the only thing he could figure out about Seto was that perhaps he was being mind-controlled by Vivalene. He knew that if the CEO was in his right mind, he'd never behave this way—especially not where Mokuba's life was concerned.  
  
"My younger brother?" Seto seemed to find this hysterical as well. "Oh, he isn't my younger brother. Kaiba's, maybe, but not mine."  
  
Yami Yugi was the first to figure it out. "Seth!!" he cried powerfully. "Release them from your evil control or you shall have to suffer the consequences of facing me and losing in a Shadow Game!"  
  
"Ah, Pharaoh. So you know who I really am." Seth smirked, enjoying the looks of shock and astonishment he was getting. "Too bad those poor fools out there were so unfortunate when they realized it. And now I'm afraid you will all have to join them!"  
  
"I don't think so." Yami Yugi glared daggers at the former high priest, his Millennium Puzzle glowing brightly. "Release these minds from Seth's control!" he ordered, the third eye appearing on his forehead.  
  
Marik rushed over to help steady Mokuba while Téa ran to Yugi. The two confused boys stared around at their surroundings and then cried out in horror.  
  
"What are we doing up here?!" Mokuba shrieked, grabbing Marik's arms in terror. Quickly the Egyptian boy helped his friend back over the railing to where there wasn't danger of falling overboard.  
  
Yugi didn't look much happier. He stared at the ground far below, his violet eyes wide. Téa then assisted him off the ledge as well, asking if he was okay. Yugi replied that he was, much to the girl's relief.  
  
Seth continued to laugh. "I really don't care if you freed them from my control, Pharaoh," he said. "You'll all plunge to your deaths soon enough!"  
  
"SETH??!!!" Mokuba cried, starting to remember what had happened. He struggled to get to him, but Marik held him back firmly. "Where's my big brother??!!!" the little boy yelled, still fighting against Marik's tight grip. "What've you done with Seto???!!!! And stop wearing his clothes, you big jerk!!!"  
  
Seth seemed highly amused by Mokuba's outburst. "Patience, child," he scolded mockingly.  
  
"I won't be patient!!" Mokuba yelled. "Marik, let me go!!!" He jabbed his elbow against his friend's stomach.  
  
Marik grunted and closed one eye. "Mokuba, there's no way you could take Seth on and win!" he said plainly. "He's three times your size and he has ten times your strength! Even the Pharaoh himself has problems contending with him!!"  
  
"That's right, young Mokuba," Seth grinned, admiring the way the trenchcoat looked on him. "You should really listen to your friend, you know. He's wise."  
  
"Answer Mokuba's query!!" Yami Yugi ordered. "It is certainly a valid one. What have you done with Seto Kaiba?!"  
  
Seth sneered in a cold-hearted way. "Well, you knew we . . . needed him," he replied.  
  
"NO!!!" Mokuba screamed. "NO!!!!!!!" Tears streamed down his face. "You couldn't have taken him!!!! You just couldn't have!!!!"  
  
"Couldn't I have?" Seth said innocently.  
  
Now Viper stepped forward, her dark eyes narrowed angrily. "Look, Chuckles, I'm kinda getting tired of your ego. I think maybe someone needs to take you down a few notches."  
  
Seth looked unfazed. "Attack me by all means if you think you can, my dear," he told her.  
  
"Gladly." Viper lashed out instantly and took Seth completely by surprise, kicking him harshly in the abdomen. The evil high priest fell over with a gasp and then Viper stood over him, arms akimbo. "Take that!" She tossed her hair and pressed down hard on Seth's chest.  
  
To her shock, Seth now seemed amused. "Ah, it's so nice to let my enemies think they have the upper hand," he remarked, grabbing her ankle and dragging her to the floor.  
  
"Cease!!!"  
  
Suddenly Seth found himself paralyzed and stuck to the concrete. "What did you do, Pharaoh?!" he growled.  
  
Yami Yugi glared down at him. "That doesn't matter. Right now you're supposed to tell us exactly what you have done with Seto Kaiba!"  
  
"And why you are working with Vivalene after what she did to you back in San Francisco," Ishizu added sternly.  
  
Seth blinked. "What are you talking about, woman? I have never seen Vivalene in San Francisco."  
  
Yami Yugi narrowed his eyes. "You don't remember?"  
  
"More of Vivalene's brainwashing," Rishid uttered low, clenching his fists.  
  
"I don't care what Vivalene did to him!" Mokuba wailed. "I want my brother back!!!"  
  
"Poor little Mokuba," Seth taunted. "You'll never see your brother again. But I look just like him. I can go back to KaibaCorp and no one will know the difference, especially not after there's no witnesses!"  
  
"I've heard enough!!" Yami Yugi declared. "Seth, you will never vanquish me!!"  
  
"We shall see, Pharaoh," Seth shot back as he was freed.  
  
Energies clashed in the sky as the two began their duel. The others stood to the sides, worry evident in their eyes.  
  
Mokuba hugged Marik tightly, still crying. "It's not true!!" he sobbed. "They don't have Seto!!! They can't have him!!! Seto would never let himself get caught!"  
  
Marik held the younger boy comfortingly. "We'll find your brother," he promised, his heart breaking for his friend. "I swear, we will find him!!"  
  
Seth's scream brought their attention back to the fight as Yami Yugi pinned the high priest against the railing dangerously. One wrong move and the man would slip and fall overboard.  
  
"Now," the Pharaoh hissed, "will you cooperate with us?"  
  
Without warning the man he was holding captive suddenly began to change in front of their eyes. He was Seth's older brother Khu . . . Marik's wicked Yami . . . even Yami Yugi himself!  
  
"What the heck?!" Joey yelled in disbelief. "That can't be Seth!!"  
  
"There is only one person I know of who can do all that," Marik hissed.  
  
"Oh?" the person said calmly, changing now into a carbon copy of Ishizu. "There is more than one who can change appearances at the drop of a hat, dear brother."  
  
"DON'T call me that!!!" Marik screamed, fire burning in his eyes.  
  
"Perhaps you should reveal to us your true identity!" the real Ishizu said sternly.  
  
"I don't think so." Now the strange, dangerous person had morphed into Seto Kaiba once more. In a puff of smoke, he had vanished completely.  
  
"Come back!!!" Mokuba yelled desperately. "Tell me where Seto is!!!"  
  
"It's no use, my friend," Marik whispered gently. "He never would have told us anyway."  
  
Martin stepped forward now, shaking his head in disbelief. "This is terrible," he muttered. "They have one of us now!"  
  
"There must be something we can do to get Kaiba back!" Téa cried, her blue eyes wide.  
  
"Are we sure they have him?" Yugi exclaimed.  
  
"Without a doubt," Martin replied tiredly.  
  
Rishid looked at him. "You say you had an old office inside the building," he said slowly.  
  
"That's right," Martin nodded. "But this is why I'm so confused—there's nothing in my office! I cleared everything out when I got my new office elsewhere. I can't understand why that man who was shooting at us came here."  
  
"Is it conceivable that he came for something other than your office?" Marik suggested. "Perhaps it all was a filthy trap to lure us here." His blood boiled at this possibility.  
  
"It is conceivable, I'm afraid," Martin said grimly.  
  
"Well," Viper spoke up, "I think the best thing now is to go to the hideout. We can talk things over better there."  
  
"She is correct," Yami Yugi said in defeat. "I feel that there isn't much more we can do here. Let's go. We don't have much time. The full moon is the next night."  
  
Everyone else agreed and they all turned to head back inside. Off in a distance a raven cawed loudly as it flew away.  
  
****  
  
In the meantime, Tristan and Duke both advanced carefully into the living room to investigate the source of the clunk—only to discover a sad and baffled Alyson holding the Ankh tightly in her hands and staring at an overturned potted plant.  
  
"Alyson!" Duke blinked.  
  
"What are you doing here?!" Tristan demanded. "You were supposed to stay back in your room with your grandma!"  
  
"I know," Alyson sighed, "but I couldn't sleep. . . . So . . . I . . . I came over here to see what was happening."  
  
"Well, I'm afraid the action is happening elsewhere, kid," Tristan said. "Everyone else went off with that Martin Collsworth guy."  
  
Alyson nodded. "I kinda figured they would." She clutched the Ankh tighter. "I . . . I just wish I knew what to do!"   
  
Tristan understood in an instant what she meant. "Hey, you'll probably know exactly what to do when the time comes," he said gently.  
  
Alyson smiled weakly. "I hope so," she said barely above a whisper.  
  
****  
  
Mai looked up at the clock. "How long is it going to take them?!" she complained.  
  
Bakura shrugged helplessly. Mai hadn't said much since they'd been waiting, but she had indicated that she was grateful for the boy's presence. He could see how edgy she was, and he didn't blame her in the least. He was worried about Rex too. I don't want anyone to die, he said silently, staring out the window at the coming dawn.  
  
Yami Bakura had fallen asleep in his chair, slumping down to the side. Oreo, luckily, hadn't made an appearance from out of his shirt, and Bakura assumed that she was asleep as well.  
  
"Ms. Valentine?"  
  
Both Mai and Bakura looked up at the approaching doctor.  
  
"Yes?" Mai asked, springing up.  
  
The doctor gave her a tired smile. "Your friend is going to be alright," he declared.  
  
"Oh thank goodness!" Bakura exclaimed, smiling as well.  
  
Mai gave a sigh of relief. "Is he awake?" she wanted to know.  
  
"He's sleeping right now," was the reply, "but he should be awake soon."  
  
Mai plopped back into her chair. "I'll wait," she said, crossing her arms.  
  
****  
  
"Well," Martin said, pushing a door open at the back of an old, long-abandoned logging camp, "we're here."  
  
"Your hideout is in this dump?" Joey blurted out.  
  
"It's a good way to keep our enemies away," Viper told him, sashaying ahead to Rishid.  
  
"Yugi," Téa said softly as they walked down a seemingly endless staircase, "do you remember what happened back at the Prudential Building, before you and Mokuba were forced to stand out on the ledge?"  
  
Yugi paused. "Not too much," he said helplessly. "But I think the real Kaiba must've been grabbed there. I don't think Seth—or whoever that guy was—could've been impersonating him for very long. Mokuba would've noticed."  
  
"You don't think he was still at the building somewhere, do you?" Téa's voice reflected her worry.  
  
"I doubt it," Yugi replied, shaking his head. "If they actually managed to get hold of him, they wouldn't waste any time getting him back to their lair."  
  
Up ahead, Martin found another door and began picking at the lock. Soon it swung open, revealing a lush, beautifully furnished room—and a strange figure attired in clothing of the Middle East. A flowing turban and a veil concealed most all of his face, the only visible part being his eyes—which were hard to see in the dim light. He regarded all of them for a brief moment and then disappeared into thin air!  
  
****  
  
Seto Kaiba regained consciousness slowly, trying to place his surroundings. Where am I? he wondered. Where's Mokuba?! Is he hurt?!  
  
"Ah, so nice of you to join us, darling."  
  
Seto growled. He would recognize that foul voice anywhere. "Vivalene!" he hissed. "What have you done with Mokuba?!"  
  
"I told you I wasn't interested in that brat, only you," Vivalene replied flippantly. "The full moon is tonight, my dear Seto. I have the entire day to have fun with you and try to capture the other boy I need for our scheme. It seems, unfortunately, that he survived my last attempt to get rid of him."  
  
"Then it's true," Seto grumbled. "You actually want to try sacrificing me—and Marik—to try bringing some monster to life!"  
  
"That's right," Vivalene smirked. "And nothing can stop me!"  
  
"Oh yeah?" Seto narrowed his eyes. "If you actually think I'm gonna allow myself to do anything to further plans of yours, I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken!"  
  
Vivalene laughed. "Well, I admire your determination. I didn't think you'd ever give up, not even if you didn't have a ghost of a chance." She flipped her hair alluringly.  
  
"Just wait and see," Seto hissed. He would figure out how to get out! He had to! If he didn't . . . he didn't even want to think about what would happen to Mokuba. 


	12. Plans

Everyone stared at the spot where the mysterious man had been only a moment before.  
  
"Who was that guy?!" Joey burst out.  
  
"He is a friend," Kamara spoke up, emerging from where she was hidden in the corner. "He stayed with me until you all arrived. He told me many things—of dangers, of hope, and of how things may turn out if we all work together and trust in a Higher Power."  
  
"But who is he?" Yugi asked, blinking in confusion.  
  
"He did not give his name," Kamara replied, "but I suppose that does not really matter anyway. If it had been necessary, I am certain he would have told me."  
  
"I suppose he got in the same way he went out?" Viper said as she locked the door behind the last of the group.  
  
Kamara nodded. "He was just here all of a sudden."  
  
Martin sank down into his favorite chair. "Well, at least he wasn't here to do harm."  
  
Everyone else sat as well, tense and on edge.  
  
"When are we gonna get my brother back?!" Mokuba cried, breaking the silence.  
  
"Soon," Yami Yugi assured him. "But first we must know more of what we are up against."  
  
"Of course," Martin nodded. "Well, these pirates have been doing their smuggling for quite some time now. At first I thought they were just another ordinary group of jewel larcenists, but then I took a closer look at the list of what they specialized in stealing."  
  
"Which was?" Joey interrupted impatiently.  
  
"In addition to the jewels, which I decided later were just a front for their darker activities, they have been taking ancient Egyptian artifacts of every shape and sort," Martin said grimly. "They have been doing this since January."  
  
"Wasn't that when Seth popped up with that staff of his?" Joey said with a blink.  
  
"Yes," Marik nodded. He remembered that time period very well, for he had been having quite the escapades of his own back then.  
  
"Shadi told me that a great evil has been building ever since then," Yugi spoke up slowly.  
  
There was a silence at the mention of Shadi's name.  
  
"This Shadi person was right," Martin said at last. "And I suspect these pirates have been behind a great deal of it."  
  
"So . . . what kind of monster are they trying to bring to life?" Téa asked hesitantly.  
  
"A horrible creature that terrorized the world many thousands of years ago," Martin told her grimly. "No one could stop its horrible rampage until two formerly wicked people bravely stepped forward and challenged it. They managed to defeat it for what was hoped all time. But . . ." Here he paused in his tale, narrowing his eyes. "An evil sorcerer later made a prophecy that, just as those who had repented of their wickedness destroyed the creature, the blood of others who had done the same could be offered up to bring it back to life."  
  
Marik gasped and then became angry. "I will not allow myself to be used in such a way to revive that beast!" he declared.  
  
"And I will not allow it either," Rishid vowed, laying a hand on his brother's shoulder.  
  
"I found out about all of this," Kamara said quietly, "and that was when the pirates came after me. They couldn't run the risk of my finding those who could stop them and telling all. But . . ." She gave a conspiratory smile. "I believe I have already done that." Her expression became serious. "You—all of you—are the ones destined to stop this evil plot."  
  
"Then we'll do it!" Yugi said vehemently.  
  
"Do you know where their hideout is?" Yami Yugi asked.  
  
Martin sighed. "I have not as yet been able to determine that. But there several ways of finding out. . . ."  
  
Kamara shook her head. "I will not allow anyone to be used as bait, unless it is me. I have a part in all of this as well, and I must not be afraid of it."  
  
Ishizu gazed at the girl. She was so strong . . . so brave. . . . But still . . . she couldn't bear the thought of one younger even than Marik sacrificing herself when she had so much of her life ahead of her.  
  
"I resemble you very much," Ishizu spoke up now. "I could go as the 'bait' and try to infiltrate the pirates' hideout."  
  
"No!!" Kamara said loudly. "This is my responsibility. I do not want to leave you at the mercy of those barbarians!"  
  
Trying to figure out a different, safer solution for everyone, Yugi thought a moment and then spoke up again. "What if their hideout is down near the docks somewhere?" he suggested.  
  
Everyone agreed that would make sense.  
  
"Well, maybe we could all get disguised and head down there and see if we could spot any of them," Yugi continued. "Then we could figure out a good way to get into their hideout once we know exactly what we were dealing with."  
  
"We only have till tonight," Yami Yugi said.  
  
"What happens if they don't get a second person by the full moon?" Téa wanted to know. "Won't it be impossible for them to release their beast?"  
  
"There is always the next full moon," Yami Yugi replied.  
  
"Yes," Martin nodded. "If they do not succeed tonight, they will go into hiding with their prisoner until next month and then try again."  
  
"But Seto won't let that happen!!" Mokuba wailed. "And I won't either!!"  
  
"There has to be some solution we can all agree on," Rishid said softly.  
  
"Well . . ." Martin closed his eyes. "There is another part to the prophecy, telling how to get rid of the beast permanently."  
  
"Which would be how?" Marik demanded. He wasn't prepared for the answer.  
  
"Not only do you and Kaiba have the power to bring the thing to life with your blood, you have been given the power to destroy it as well."  
  
****  
  
Rex opened his eyes slowly and stared up at the ceiling, trying to focus. Where the heck was he?!  
  
"So . . . you're awake, are you?"  
  
He blinked, taking in Mai Valentine standing over him with her arms crossed and a bit of a smirk on her face.  
  
"Yeah . . . I'm awake," he said slowly, secretly relieved to see that she was alright.  
  
Mai half-turned. "Good." She tried to figure out how to phrase things without sounding too soft. "At first . . . no one knew if you were going to make it."  
  
"I wasn't hurt that bad," Rex grunted, struggling to sit up and failing.  
  
Mai turned back, looking into Rex's dark eyes. "Why did you save me?" she asked.  
  
Rex stared back at her and then narrowed his eyes defensively. "Hey! I've still gotta beat you at Duel Monsters!" he said then.  
  
Mai raised an eyebrow. "It would be hard to do that if you'd have wound up fatally injuring yourself," she commented.  
  
Rex leaned back into the pillows in frustration. "You wanna know the truth?" he said at last.  
  
"I'd love to," Mai said dryly.  
  
"The truth is . . . I don't know why I did it," Rex replied quietly. "I saw that he was aiming for you and . . . it was kind of an instantaneous reaction. I just lunged forward and pushed you out of the way." He shrugged helplessly.  
  
"Hmmm." Mai studied him for another minute and then glanced out the window before turning to go. "Well . . . I never thought I'd be saying this to you . . . but . . . I owe you one." Before Rex had a chance to respond, the girl had reached the door and was opening it. "But don't think you'll ever beat me at Duel Monsters," she smirked.  
  
****  
  
Serenity, meanwhile, hadn't slept as peacefully as the others had thought. She stared out her window now at the oncoming dawn, worrying about her brother.  
  
Where could Joey be? she thought to herself. Is he hurt somewhere? Why isn't he back yet? She did know about Martin Collsworths' arrival, as Alyson had come and told her shortly after the others had all left.  
  
Slowly she walked to the door and inched it open, wondering if she was the only one still there in the hotel. Hearing voices to her right, the auburn-haired girl blinked and headed for the half-open door across the hall. "Tristan? Duke?" she called softly.  
  
The door was flung all the way open by a smiling Tristan. "Serenity!" he exclaimed. "How are you? Did you sleep well?"  
  
Serenity smiled weakly. "As well as I could, under the circumstances," she said. "Do you know where Joey is?" she asked urgently.  
  
"Joey?" Tristan repeated. "Sorry . . . I don't know where he's gotten himself by now."  
  
"I thought they were all going out to Martin's hideout," Duke spoke up. "Wherever that is. . . ."  
  
"Why can't he call or something to let us know how he is?!" Serenity lamented.  
  
"I don't know," Tristan answered truthfully. "Maybe he's gotten involved in something major and can't get to a phone."  
  
"I hope he's okay," Serenity whispered, wringing her hands.  
  
"Hey, this is Joey we're talking about," Tristan said brightly. "I'm sure he's fine!"  
  
Serenity smiled weakly. "I know he can take care of himself, but solving these mysteries sounds so dangerous!" she declared. "I can't believe this is the tenth one!"  
  
"Believe it," Tristan replied. "I don't know how we do it either, really. . . ." He trailed off, remembering all of their misadventures during the time they'd been amateur sleuths and hoping that Serenity wouldn't wind up getting in trouble because of it all. Siblings often seemed to get used against each other on their cases, and he was afraid that one day someone would use Serenity against Joey.  
  
Abruptly the door burst open and Alyson's grandmother rolled herself in with her wheelchair. "Have any of you seen Alyson?" she asked urgently.  
  
"No," Tristan said slowly in confusion.  
  
"Why?" Duke blinked his emerald eyes worriedly. "Is she missing?"  
  
The elderly woman held out a piece of paper. "Well . . . she left this. I'm just afraid of what she's getting into!"  
  
Tristan took the paper and stared at it. "Oh man," he breathed softly.  
  
Grandma—  
  
I know what I havta do now  
  
with the Ankh. I've gotta go  
  
take care of it, but I'll be back!  
  
I promise!  
  
I love you!  
  
—Alyson  
  
"I don't know where she could have gone!" the elderly woman cried, shaking her head.  
  
"Well, I don't either," Tristan said, "but we're gonna find out!"  
  
****  
  
Marik stared at Martin incredulously. "And what exactly do you mean by this statement?" he wanted to know.  
  
Martin gave him a secret smile. "You will know when the time is right," he predicted.  
  
Marik leaned back into the soft couch, looking frustrated. "Well, in the meantime, we still have to find a solution for our current problem," he said. "Somehow we have to find these pirates and see where they're hiding out!" A new thought came to him and he narrowed his lavender eyes. "Perhaps I should be the 'bait,'" he suggested in a low voice.  
  
"What?! Marik, no!!!" Ishizu cried.  
  
"Brother, you can't possibly . . ." Rishid began.  
  
Marik held up his hand for silence. "Just hear me out," he pleaded. "If this is true, that Kaiba and I are the ones who can permanently destroy this creature, then . . ." His gaze turned steely. "Perhaps I must allow the pirates to take me prisoner for this to happen."  
  
Ishizu enveloped Marik in her arms, tears slipping from her eyes. "No, brother, no," she sobbed. "You cannot give yourself up! They will kill you!!"  
  
Rishid and Mokuba looked equally horrified at Marik's remarks, even though they knew that he could be right. Of course the thought that he was only made it even more of a horror to them.  
  
Kamara spoke up evenly. "I already said that this part fell to me," she said. "It is my destiny now to fall into their hands in order to assist the rest of you." The girl paused. "The mysterious veiled man told me so."  
  
"Well, hey, it's not like everything he says has to be taken seriously!" Joey burst out. "We don't even know who he is!"  
  
The third eye glowed on Yami Yugi's forehead. "I sense, however, that he is correct on this," the Pharaoh declared. "Kamara must go."  
  
Tears filled Yugi's eyes. "But Yami, what if . . ." He trailed off.  
  
"I am honored to help in any way I can," Kamara said sincerely.  
  
Mako had stayed pretty much silent throughout all of this conversation. He never could have dreamed that the search for his father would have evolved into a situation of such immense seriousness as this. He could only pray that his father, wherever he was, wasn't mixed up in it somehow.  
  
****  
  
Bakura watched as his Yami suddenly started awake, his slanted brown eyes snapping open. Oreo gave a muffled meow of surprise from inside the thief's shirt, peeking up slightly so that her ears and eyes showed.  
  
"Yami, what is it?" Bakura exclaimed.  
  
The tomb raider didn't answer and instead sprang to his feet, muttering various curses in Egyptian. "MORON!!" he screamed finally.  
  
Bakura turned pink and was very relieved that they were the only ones in the room. "Yami, what on earth is the matter?!" he demanded.  
  
"A monster so terrible you can't even imagine what it looks like is about to be unleashed on the city," Yami Bakura hissed. "There are only a few hours to stop it!! We have to get out of here now!! We shouldn't have ever come!!"  
  
Bakura gasped, staring out the window. "Yami?" he said very shakily, not having heard the old tomb robber's last comment.  
  
"What?!" the thief snapped.  
  
"Are you certain it hasn't already been unleashed?" Bakura pointed nervously to where a horrible beast was attempting to come through the window! 


	13. Friend or Foe?

Yami Bakura growled loudly as he stared at the creature on the other side of the window. "The warning," he muttered.  
  
"What?!" Bakura cried in alarm.  
  
"It appears only to those destined to be witnesses to the overthrowing of the evil," Yami Bakura replied, narrowing his eyes. "This means that tonight is the night."  
  
The grotesque chimera roared, glaring right into Bakura's sweet eyes before vanishing into nothing. The British boy stared after it, looking immensely rattled. "But . . . but this means that . . . that we will be involved with all of this? We will be part of destroying this evil?"  
  
Yami Bakura grunted, not looking happy at all. "It does appear that way, doesn't it," he said flatly, while Oreo hissed at the spot where the monster had been.  
  
Bakura's gaze darted all around the room nervously and then stopped on the enigmatic figure of the Middle Eastern man. "Oh!" the boy burst out.  
  
The stranger's eyes were still in shadow, hidden by the edges of the flowing turban. He regarded Bakura and his Yami solemnly, making them both uneasy.  
  
"Who are you?!" Bakura exclaimed. "Please, tell us!"  
  
Not speaking, the man gave them a last, shadowy look before turning and walking out.  
  
Mai came in about the same time. "Who was that guy?!" she demanded.  
  
"I'm afraid we don't know," Bakura said apologetically. Curiously he looked at Oreo, who seemed sad that the strange man had left. "But it seems Oreo might," the boy added in surprise. "Perhaps he's a friend. I do hope so!"  
  
****  
  
The others were trying to make their final plans for rescuing Seto and eliminating the beast they had to fight.  
  
"Something doesn't make sense," Marik spoke up. "Kaiba and I have to be killed in order for the creature to be brought to life in the first place, so how can we possibly also hold the power to destroy it?! If it comes to life, we'll already be dead!"  
  
Rishid narrowed his eyes angrily at the pictures his younger brother was painting. He couldn't allow such a thing to happen. Marik was under his protection and always would be. Especially after the previous night, Rishid knew he could never let something happen that would result in the boy's destruction.  
  
Martin looked into Marik's eyes. "As I said, my friend, you will know when the time is right," he said gently. "It doesn't make sense now, but it will."  
  
Ishizu rubbed the teenager's back comfortingly, her eyes filled with many emotions. She had the sinking feeling that she understood what Martin meant, but she prayed she was wrong in her interpretation.  
  
Marik smiled up at her, his eyes revealing that he, also, had a suspicion. He grabbed his sister's hand and held it close, whispering something in Egyptian that only they and Rishid understood.  
  
Rishid glared up at Martin. "Will anyone perish on this quest?" He grasped Marik's other hand tightly.  
  
Martin sighed. "It is very dangerous," he admitted. "I'm afraid it's possible."  
  
A silence filled the room as everyone tried to digest the news. All of them had really assumed that would be the case, but hearing it spoken out loud only confirmed it all the more.  
  
Mako decided to speak now. "Mr. Collsworth, do you know if my father was involved in any of this, by any chance?" he asked.  
  
Martin looked thoughtful. "He may have been," he replied. "I really can't remember much about him yet," he added apologetically.  
  
Mako was undaunted. "Does that mean you are starting to remember him a little bit?" he persisted.  
  
"I remember a fisherman who often talked of his son," Martin answered, "but not any more than that, I'm afraid. That could have been your father, but then again, it might have been someone else entirely."  
  
Mako sighed inwardly, but tried to smile. "Well, I'm certain the rest will come to you," he said, his old confidence quickly returning. "I know my father is alive."  
  
Kamara stood up now. "We should leave immediately," she declared. "We do not have much time."  
  
Ishizu nodded grimly. "First, we need to collect the others," she announced. "They cannot be left behind."  
  
"Alright," Yugi said, standing as well. "Let's go get them!"  
  
****  
  
"So, where are we going to look?" Duke asked with a raised eyebrow while pushing Alyson's grandmother's wheelchair. "This is a big city. Alyson could be anywhere!"  
  
"I was thinking maybe we should split up," Tristan returned. "We'd cover more ground that way. You could go with . . ." He blinked, realizing that they didn't even know the grandmother's name.  
  
"Mrs. Perkins," the woman piped up. Not one to introduce herself unless it was necessary, she only found it to be so now.  
  
Tristan nodded absentmindedly. "You take Mrs. Perkins and I'll go with Serenity," he directed.  
  
"Actually, I think I should go with Serenity," Duke answered smoothly.  
  
"Maybe you two should go off and leave Serenity and I to ourselves," Mrs. Perkins snapped, realizing that their argument could go on for hours. "We don't need strong men to protect us."  
  
"I know!" Tristan cried then. "Let's let Serenity decide!"  
  
Serenity blinked. "Shouldn't we be more worried about Alyson than about who's going with who?" she said.  
  
"You're absolutely right, Serenity!" Duke said then. "Which is why you're coming with me while we look!" Before Tristan could retort, the emerald-eyed boy had whisked the girl off down the street.  
  
"You know, Mr. Taylor," Mrs. Perkins said, not looking especially happy as she gazed at the fuming Tristan on the sidewalk, "you have plenty of time to win the girl. Right now I want my granddaughter!"  
  
"Huh?" Tristan started, coming back to the current situation. "Oh . . . of course," he said meekly, wheeling Mrs. Perkins off in the opposite direction and all the while thinking of ways he could seriously injure Duke for that stunt.  
  
****  
  
Seto Kaiba had not been idle during this time. Vivalene had left him locked in the strange, underground room and then had gone off to "take care of other business," as she'd put it. Now the young businessman was surveying his prison and trying to decide the best way to get out. He had the feeling that Vivalene would be back before long to "have more fun with him," but he didn't intend to be there when she did. And if he was, Vivalene was going to be sorry for attempting to carry out her sick little plot, because he wasn't going to take this submissively.  
  
These were his thoughts as he poked and prodded at the walls, floor, and ceiling without having success. He knew all too well what would happen if he didn't get out. He only hoped that Marik wouldn't wind up being captured as well. That's all we need, he thought to himself cynically.   
  
A light flashed and the same veiled man stood in front of Seto, gazing unwaveringly at the defiant boy.  
  
"Who are you?" Seto narrowed his eyes in annoyance, not ready to deal with someone else just yet.  
  
Remaining silent, the man continued to study Seto as he had Bakura and his Yami earlier. Finally he half-turned and spoke quietly in a muffled voice. "There is no escape from here," he said.  
  
Seto wasn't pleased. "Oh? And what makes you think so?" he asked.  
  
"I am quite aware of where you are being held—what lies outside these walls—and there is no escape," the man repeated. "That is . . . not unless you defeat the evil."  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow. "Well, I don't intend to be a sacrifice to bring it to life," he muttered. "What exactly is it I *am* supposed to do?"  
  
"Stay strong," the stranger replied. "You and Marik Ishtar are the key to this plot. The both of you have the power to rid the world of this horrible beast for good. Your enemies are keenly aware of this and will try to assure that you do not succeed in assisting the side of righteousness."  
  
"That doesn't entirely make sense to me," Seto said, "but I'll do anything to keep my brother safe."  
  
"I know you will." The man closed his eyes and started to walk off, his cape flying out behind him. "You will understand what you must do when the time comes."  
  
"Have we met before?" Seto demanded suddenly. "For some reason, I feel I know you from somewhere."  
  
"It is possible," came the reply. "But it does not matter." With that he was gone again, leaving Seto to puzzle over everything.  
  
****  
  
In the meantime, the others were finally ready to leave the hideout and gather their friends before continuing on their dangerous mission.  
  
"What about Rex?" Téa exclaimed. "If none of us should be separated, then Rex needs to come with us. But he might not be well enough!"  
  
Ishizu touched her Millennium Tauk. "We will have to check on him," she said simply, "and bring him if we at all possibly can." Slowly she started heading for the door, then stopped. "I sense something," she said quietly.  
  
"What is it?!" Yugi gasped, recognizing her "danger pose."  
  
"We must leave here immediately," Ishizu started to say, but she was rudely interrupted by a horrible BOOM! as the entire hideout gave way from a detonation!  
  
Everyone went flying in different directions, each affected by the blast in some way. Debris rained down on them as they were thrown out into the hallway and beyond.  
  
Shakily Mokuba got up, his little heart pounding. "Is everyone okay?!" he gasped.  
  
"I think so," Marik moaned in reply, struggling to regain his balance.  
  
"What *was* that?!" Téa burst out in alarm.  
  
"The enemy knows where we are," Kamara replied gravely.  
  
"Could it have been that veiled guy?!" Joey wondered angrily. "I mean, face it, we don't know anything about him! He could've planted the bomb when he came to talk to Kamara!"  
  
"We'll have to talk later," Yami Yugi interrupted. "This likely wasn't the only bomb set up, and if we do not leave right now, we shall be caught in the next one."  
  
Not wanting to question the Pharaoh, everyone followed him up the staircase and to the door leading outside. They weren't quick enough to avoid the second explosion, however, and again they all went sprawling in different directions—only this time they weren't as lucky.  
  
After what seemed like ages, Yugi managed to overcome his dizziness and look around. "Where . . . where is everyone?" he mumbled, staring at the smoldering lump where the shack had been.  
  
A little ways beyond him, Téa sat up and groaned, rubbing her head. Mokuba looked at her with concerned blue-gray eyes and she smiled up at him weakly, indicating that she was alright.  
  
Rishid struggled to help Kamara rise, his golden eyes narrowed and his heart still warning him of danger. What was wrong? he wondered, growing fearful. The explosion had been so fierce. . . . What if . . . what if someone hadn't made it?  
  
Before long everyone else had been accounted for—except Marik and Ishizu, much to Rishid's and Mokuba's horror.  
  
"Where could they be?!" Mokuba cried, looking about frantically. "Hey, they've gotta be okay! Nothing would happen to them!" He spoke shakily, trying to reassure himself of that.  
  
A loud wail abruptly interrupted all thoughts.  
  
"That's Marik!!" Mokuba yelped.  
  
Instantly Rishid ran toward the direction of the sound and soon found Marik kneeling next to Ishizu's body, sobbing uncontrollably.  
  
"Brother!" the man said in trepidation, dropping to his knees as well and leaning over to gaze at their sister.  
  
Gently Marik took the woman into his arms, as he remembered doing back at the ranch, and held her close. "I . . . I was sprawled there, stunned senseless for several minutes," he explained, his blank eyes showing how numb he was from this shock. "When I finally managed to clear my thoughts enough to sit up, I found Ishizu laying here . . ." He trailed off, tears of fear and anger starting to form in his eyes. "Those devils!" he hissed at last, feeling Rishid's comforting embrace as the man put his arms around both him and Ishizu. "Those inhuman devils!!"  
  
Rishid was devastated as well. Ishizu was such a delicate person . . . so refined and dignified. . . . Such a sweet, kind sister. . . . How could anyone possibly . . .  
  
He reached out and brushed his fingers against Ishizu's cool cheek. She didn't stir, prompting him to bend down and check her lifesigns.  
  
Marik watched, his eyes showing that he was highly upset. "She's just unconscious," he said fervently, wanting to believe that. "She's just unconscious and she's going to wake up. . . ."  
  
Rishid bit his lip, wanting to assure his brother of that but not knowing if he could and not be telling a lie. "Ishizu?" he said softly. It felt so strange . . . to call her by just her given name. . . . He hadn't in so long. . . .  
  
"Sister?" Marik added his own plea, his voice shaking. What would he do if Ishizu didn't . . . if she didn't ever wake up? No! he screamed inwardly. That can't happen! It won't!! I won't let it!! Sobs racked his body. He had no control over death, and he knew it. Silently he sent a heartfelt prayer to the Heavens, begging for his and Rishid's precious sister's life to be spared. 


	14. Hostages

At last Ishizu gasped and opened her eyes, blinking up at her precious brothers. "Where . . . where am I?" she asked in confusion.  
  
Marik smiled happily. "You're with us, sister!" he exclaimed. "You're safe!!" He gave her a warm hug and motioned for Rishid to join them as well, which he did. "Dear Ishizu! You're safe!!"  
  
Ishizu still looked a bit baffled, but she reached up to embrace them both. Smiling, she stroked Marik's cheek and grabbed for Rishid's hand, never taking notice of the blood trickling from the cut on her temple.  
  
Rishid noticed, however. "Ishizu, you are bleeding!" he cried.  
  
Marik noticed as well. "Sister, you might be badly hurt," the boy said worriedly. "Someone should have a look at that wound!"  
  
Ishizu raised a hand to touch the gash. "It's alright, my brothers," she replied softly. "It is not life-threatening."  
  
"But you may have a concussion, Ishizu," Rishid protested.  
  
"I am quite certain I do not," Ishizu answered, trying to sit up. Marik and Rishid helped her and she looked at them gratefully before starting to lean against her older brother.  
  
The others came running over then, having stayed behind before to give the siblings some time to themselves. All of them were immensely relieved to see the rest of their group alive and well—and conscious.  
  
"Marik!!" Mokuba hurried over, grinning at his friend. Traces of tears were in his eyes, but he pretended they weren't there.  
  
The Egyptian boy looked up and smiled. "I am glad you are safe, my friend," he said sincerely while stroking Ishizu's hand.  
  
Mokuba hugged the older boy shakily, looking more relieved even than usual. What with his brother missing—captured by the wicked ones who wanted to unleash the horrible evil at the expense of lives—Mokuba couldn't bear the thought of his friend getting in trouble as well. It was all too much for a ten-year-old to handle, and Marik knew that.  
  
The teenager put his free arm around the little boy gently. "Your brother will be alright," he said softly. "Kaiba will never let them hurt him as long as there's still a fighting spirit in his body. And I happen to know that Kaiba will never give that up."  
  
Mokuba smiled weakly. "Yeah . . . I know you're right," he said softly, "but . . . it's still hard."  
  
Knowing how heart-broken he himself had been earlier, Marik understood exactly the extent of Mokuba's pain. It angered him that Vivalene and the others didn't care at all that Seto Kaiba had a younger brother who would be absolutely and completely devastated by what they were doing. And if they managed to kill him, and Marik as well, then Mokuba wouldn't have anyone.  
  
His thoughts wandered some more. If he was dead, what would happen to Ishizu and Rishid? He remembered exactly how tormented they'd been after he had disappeared against his will a while ago and was thought to have been deceased.  
  
He knew Rishid would berate himself and say that he hadn't been able to protect his brother. Poor Rishid . . . always so devoted . . . so kind and dear. . . . Perhaps he would even go insane, as he had once in the past when the ex-Rare Hunters had found a dead body that looked like Marik and used it to their advantage! Marik clenched his fists subconsciously, a smoldering look coming into his eyes.  
  
And Ishizu . . . she would be so lonely . . . so crushed. . . . Even though he had been being mentally and physically tortured during that time in the past and hadn't been able to really know what was happening around him other than that, he had still sensed his siblings' feelings from a long way off. He had sensed Ishizu's agony . . . he had sensed that she had been cracking as well. "I am sorry, brother," he had heard her whisper in his mind, "I cannot always remain strong." He had tried to call to her, had tried so desperately to tell her to not give up, but he hadn't known how his message would ever get through to her.  
  
He only knew now that he couldn't die in this way. The entire world would be in danger if the beast was brought forth, but also . . . his tighter-knit world, those he loved and treasured above anything else, would be in danger, and probably more so than the others on the planet because of Vivalene's and Seth's involvement. And he wouldn't be able to do anything to protect them if he was dead . . . would he?  
  
My blood can't be used for this atrocity, he vowed to himself. I will not let this happen, no matter what it takes!! Even if I have to . . .  
  
"Marik?"  
  
The boy was startled out of his thoughts by Rishid's worried voice.  
  
"Are you alright, brother?"  
  
Marik blinked, coming back to the present. He was digging his fingernails into his palm so harshly that he was almost drawing blood. Quickly he relaxed the pressure and sighed.  
  
"Marik?"  
  
He turned, looking into Mokuba's frightened eyes.  
  
"Marik, I know you said Seto's gonna be okay and everything," Mokuba said barely above a whisper, "but . . . I'm still worried. I can see that . . . that you're afraid something bad's gonna happen too."  
  
Marik sighed and looked down. "I will be honest with you, my friend," he said at last. "I am afraid that something will happen. This is very dangerous, perhaps our most dangerous mission to date." He tilted Mokuba's chin so the boy was gazing directly into his eyes. "Failure cannot be an option," the teenager added firmly.  
  
"I know," Mokuba replied, suddenly grabbing Marik's hand in the old way of their friendship pact. "So . . . we're just not gonna fail. Okay?"  
  
Marik returned the gesture, his eyes soft. Mokuba reminded him a lot of himself at that age. "Okay," he agreed, starting to smile.  
  
Now Rishid helped Ishizu to stand. "We should get to the hospital to gather our friends there and to have our sister examined," he said.  
  
Marik nodded. "Let's go," he said, his confidence and strength renewed.  
  
****  
  
To everyone's relief, Ishizu was found to be just fine by the doctor and was proclaimed free to go.  
  
"A very fortunate thing," Ishizu said quietly as she embraced an overjoyed Marik. Of course they both knew that Ishizu wouldn't have stayed in the hospital even if the doctor had said she needed to. What with everything coming to an intense climax in such a short time, the Egyptian woman knew she couldn't allow anything to delay them further.  
  
"How's Rex?" Yugi asked Bakura as he spotted him, Yami Bakura, and Mai.  
  
"Doing quite a bit better, I think," Bakura answered with a smile, then listened in utter alarm to the tale of the bombs. "Oh!!" the sweet boy burst out, clapping a hand to his mouth.  
  
"And you think it was that weird Middle Eastern guy?" Mai queried, crossing her arms.  
  
"Heck, I should do!" Joey cried. "Where'd he even come from?! And who the heck is he?!"  
  
"We saw him here," Bakura remembered, telling of how the man had stared them down.  
  
"Well, that's pretty weird, dontcha think?!" Joey declared.  
  
"It was rather odd," Bakura admitted.  
  
"So let me get things straight," Mai said slowly. "Kaiba's been carted away by Vivalene and Seth because they want to sacrifice him and Marik to revive some ancient beast, and we only have until the moon rises to stop this?"  
  
"That's right," Yugi nodded.  
  
"I believe I know where one of their hideouts is," Kamara said. "I have accepted my role of distracting them so that you all can get inside and bring their foul plan to a halt."  
  
Marik looked down. Things were starting to become clearer to him on what he might have to do in order to assist the side of good, but he didn't want to say so aloud incase he was possibly wrong.  
  
Several janitors were coming into the waiting room where everyone was in order to clean things up. They didn't seem to pay much attention to each other, that is, not until one of the men reached into the cart of cleaning supplies and withdrew a rifle, which he promptly fired into the air.  
  
Instantly everyone came to attention.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?!" Joey yelled indignantly. "There's injured people in here!"  
  
"Oh yeah, that's true," the janitor smirked. "And I think the hospital will be getting some new patients unless you do what I want."  
  
****  
  
Seto had been over the room at least half a dozen times now, and much to his annoyance, he found that the mysterious stranger had been right. There wasn't any way out.  
  
Vivalene's laugh rang out from somewhere on the other side of the wall. "Poor Seto Kaiba," she taunted. "You can't seem to find your way out, can you? Well, maybe you'll enjoy talking to our latest addition."  
  
"What do you mean?!" Seto growled angrily.  
  
In the next moment Seth and Vivalene stepped through a newly-created portal in the wall, holding up a struggling Alyson. "This little gnat has gotten herself into quite the predicament," Seth sneered.  
  
Seto's eyes widened. How had they gotten Alyson?!  
  
The little girl kicked out frantically, hitting Seth directly on the jaw. "You're a bad man, just like the one who shot poor Shadi!!" she wailed.  
  
Seth staggered back from the force of Alyson's kick, loosening his grip on her and enabling Seto to reach out and grab her away.  
  
"How amusing," Vivalene laughed.  
  
Undaunted, Alyson yanked the Ankh off from around her neck and pointed it at the two villains. "Shadi entrusted this to me and I'm not gonna let him down!" she cried. "Maybe I can use it to stop you awful people!"  
  
The kid's got spunk, Seto thought to himself, but does she even know how to use that thing?  
  
Vivalene obviously had the same thoughts. "Did Shadi teach you what you have to do to make that artifact work?" she sneered, certain of what the answer would be.  
  
"He said I'd know what to do when the time came!" Alyson replied defensively.  
  
Seth straightened up and crossed his arms. "Ah, and so you're saying that now is the time," he remarked.  
  
"Yeah!" Alyson said firmly, holding it out. A blast of energy shot out and struck the evil man down, revealing that he was not actually Seth at all, but instead the strange shapeshifter from the Prudential Building.  
  
Seto grunted as Alyson was thrown back against him forcefully from the blast and struggled to keep his balance. It must take a lot of training to be able to use it properly, he thought now, but it's not bad for her first attempt.  
  
Vivalene blinked, startled as well, but also impressed. "Very good, child," she said, flipping her hair nonchalantly and making no move to help her cronie stand up. "It should be very entertaining for you to use it while you and Kaiba are trapped in here together. Of course . . . you won't be here for too terribly long. We have a surefire plan in action to get the other boy we need for our little plot and then . . ." She paused and smirked, revealing all of her pearly white teeth. Seto decided that she looked like a vampyre. "Then our great beast shall be unleashed upon the world, and I shall receive all the earthly treasures my little heart could desire!"  
  
"Shadi would say that you can't ever get real happiness from earthly treasures, especially if you have to hurt others to get them!" Alyson retorted angrily.  
  
"Oh, is that so?" Vivalene said vaguely. "Well, what would the deceased guardian know of such matters? I doubt he ever desperately wanted gold or silver or precious gems, as I do." She played with the pearls around her neck. "But we really mustn't waste any more time here, dearie. I have so much to do."  
  
"Yeah? Well, why don't you start by taking a nice nap?!" Alyson yelled, directing another blast at the evil woman.  
  
Vivalene ducked, barely managing to dodge Alyson's skillful aim.  
  
Instantly Seto ran forward and kicked her legs out from under her, sending her sprawling to the floor. "Come on," he growled to Alyson, grabbing her and dashing off down the hall.  
  
"You can run, Kaiba darling, but you can't hide!" Vivalene yelled after him. "And you'll never get out of here alive!!"  
  
Her wicked cackle echoed throughout the dark, dank halls as Seto and Alyson tore down the deserted stone pathways. The young CEO didn't even bother to figure out what Vivalene meant. He knew the place was likely to be booby-trapped. But he was certain that he would be able to get past it all.  
  
****  
  
In the meantime, Tristan, Mrs. Perkins, Duke, and Serenity had combed the entire city and then had wound up meeting up in front of the hospital.  
  
"Nothing?" Tristan sighed in frustration.  
  
"She's nowhere around!" Duke replied, throwing his hands up in the air.  
  
"She might be hurt somewhere!" Serenity worried.  
  
A siren interrupted their conversation as a police car drove up and parked, followed by several more.  
  
"Something must be going on here," Tristan blinked in surprise.  
  
"What's happening, Officer?" Mrs. Perkins called.  
  
The policeman turned. "We have a hostage situation in the hospital," he replied grimly. "A bunch of people, most of them teenagers, are being held against their will in a waiting room."  
  
The little group of four exchanged concerned glances, each one wondering the same thing. By any chance, could it be their friends, and in Serenity's case, her family?!  
  
****  
  
Of course it was. Inside the said waiting room, the "janitors" were busy pointing their rifles at everyone and ordering them to do what they wanted.  
  
"And what exactly is it you want?" Yami Yugi asked calmly.  
  
"The Egyptian kid," the second janitor answered.  
  
"I expected as much," Marik said, stepping forward.  
  
"Brother, you cannot give yourself up to them!!" Ishizu screamed. "That cannot be the answer!! It cannot be!!"  
  
Marik looked down, clenching his fists and trying to decide what he should do. Please, he prayed fervently, I do not want anyone to be harmed. Tell me what I must do!  
  
Before he could get his answer, one of the guns clicked abruptly as the third janitor pointed it at Mokuba, obviously intending to shoot him as a warning.  
  
"Mokuba!! No!!" Bakura cried, getting in the way. The poor boy screamed in pain as the bullet tore through his shoulder.  
  
"Bakura!!!" Mokuba and everyone else yelled in alarm.  
  
"You dolt!!!" Yami Bakura scolded, kneeling down next to Bakura as the boy writhed in agony on the floor.  
  
"You want more of your friends and your family to get hurt?" the first janitor hissed at Marik.  
  
The boy gazed back, fury building within him once again. "You devils," he whispered with conviction. "You set the explosion earlier and now you are doing this!!"  
  
"Perceptive," the second custodian grinned. "And what are you going to do about it?"  
  
Marik took a deep breath, knowing that he would never be able to figure it out as long as he had hatred in his heart. But still . . . knowing that he was facing those who had tried to kill them all earlier, harming first Rex, Yami Bakura, and Rishid, then Ishizu and now Bakura . . . it was hard to push the hatred away. Slowly he began to remove the dagger from the Millennium Rod.  
  
"Brother!!" Rishid called to him steadily. "Please . . . do not lose focus. Do not give in to your hatred." He paused, knowing the words that could jar the boy back to the present but not wanting to have to throw them at him.  
  
Joey, however, was more than willing to do so. "Remember Battle City, Marik!!" he yelled.  
  
Bakura looked up weakly. "These people may very well deserve to be tortured," he rasped, "but . . . it isn't your decision to make, Marik. . . ." He groaned, unable to handle the pain and loss of blood. "Someone . . . please help me . . ."  
  
Yami Bakura cradled the boy on his lap while Yugi and Téa ran over as well. "Perhaps Marik is not willing to give in to hatred again, but I am," he hissed.  
  
"Yami, please don't," Bakura whispered.  
  
The janitors watched all of this with amusement, considering it high-class entertainment.  
  
Marik gritted his teeth, finally sheathing the dagger once more and letting his hands drop to his sides. His family and friends were right, he knew. Charging in a fit of hatred wouldn't solve anything and would probably wind up with him *and* everyone else being killed—which was just what the enemy wanted.  
  
"A coward, huh?" the first fake caretaker sneered.  
  
"Quite on the contrary," Ishizu said angrily. "Marik has just done a very brave thing, and he knows that we all, especially Rishid and I, are extremely proud of him."  
  
A tear slipped from Marik's eye and he looked up firmly. "Yes, I know," he said in a soft tone. "I know."  
  
Suddenly a bright light glowed in the middle of the floor and began to expand, causing everyone to stumble back in shock.  
  
"What's happening?!" Téa screamed. 


	15. Riddles

Notes: MUWAHAHAHA!! Thanx to an RP with WingWeaver Hope, I was able to obtain two of the three riddles in here! ^___^  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Shielding their eyes, everyone was able to see a figure standing directly in the middle of the light.  
  
"What on earth?!" Joey yelled.  
  
"It's that man again!" Bakura realized, starting to curl up in a ball from the pain. Yami Bakura growled at this and shoved a cloth against the wound in the boy's shoulder.  
  
"Who is he?" Yugi wondered, staring in a kind of awe as the Middle Eastern stranger put forth his hand and uttered something forcefully in his native language. The fake janitors screamed in fear of the righteous punishment that was coming upon them and then vanished into nothing, their weapons remaining behind.  
  
All eyes turned to the enigmatic man who had just rescued them. He ignored their stares and bent down to retrieve one of the rifles, muttering softly to himself.  
  
Bakura's moans of pain interrupted him and he looked over at the agonized boy, his eyes narrowed.  
  
"Can you help him?" Téa asked hopefully.  
  
Without a word the stranger set the gun aside and knelt down by Bakura. Gently he laid his hand on the tormented boy's forehead, willing him to sleep. "The wound is not serious," he said, his voice muffled by the veil, "but the boy cannot tolerate the pain. He must rest now."  
  
Bakura gave a last groan before falling into slumber. Oreo meowed, licking his cheek and then putting her paws on the man's hands. Their rescuer stroked her fur before straightening up and turning to go.  
  
"Wait!" Yugi cried. "Can you tell us anything that will help us today?"  
  
"Nothing that you do not already know," came the reply as their rescuer shimmered and disappeared. Everyone stared at the spot where he had been for several long moments in silence, stunned.  
  
Ishizu broke the hush as she embraced her brother warmly. "Dear Marik," she whispered. "I am so glad you overcame your hatred."  
  
Marik smiled weakly, hugging her and then Rishid when he came over.  
  
Many thoughts tumbled through Ishizu's mind as she held her brothers close to her. She couldn't stop thinking about the strange man who had come to their rescue. Something seemed so familiar about him . . . but what was it? His eyes? They had been hidden in shadow for most of the time, but once Ishizu had been sure she had caught a glimpse of them—and they were a striking blue. But . . . the one she longed to see was dead. It was foolishness to fantasize that she had seen him.  
  
"Sister?" Marik blinked at her. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Yes," Ishizu assured him, snapping back to the present. "I was thinking about . . ." She trailed off, a faraway look coming into her eyes.  
  
Marik sighed sadly, looking up at the sister he loved and treasured so much. He knew she was thinking of Shadi and missing him. And yet . . . when that strange man was here, it almost seemed as if I could sense Shadi's presence, the boy thought then. But no . . . that's ridiculous!  
  
At that moment the doors burst open and Tristan, Duke, Serenity, and Mrs. Perkins appeared, all looking worried.  
  
"Joey!!" Serenity exclaimed, running to her big brother and throwing her arms around him.  
  
"Serenity, what the heck are you doing here?!" Joey gasped, his eyes wide as he returned the embrace.  
  
"Well, we were looking for Alyson, but then we heard about the hostage situation and that you were all in trouble!" Serenity replied.  
  
"Wait a minute, Alyson's missing?!" Yugi gasped.  
  
Tristan nodded. "She left this," he said, showing the other boy the note.  
  
"How did you guys know we were the ones in trouble?" Mai asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Some weird Middle Eastern guy told us," Duke said with a shrug.  
  
Yami Bakura, meanwhile, was ignoring all the conversation and instead was busily engaged in watching Bakura sleep. The teenage boy was moving about in the tomb raider's arms and didn't seem very calm at all.  
  
"Settle down, you dolt," Yami Bakura hissed grouchily.  
  
Bakura replied by moaning loudly.  
  
"You can't even handle a little bit of pain," the thief grunted, shaking his head in apparent disbelief.  
  
Téa just rolled her eyes at that, still considering Yami Bakura to be an insane sicko.  
  
Martin looked highly upset at all of this, as if he thought himself responsible for everyone's troubles.  
  
Yami Yugi clenched his fists. "We don't have much time," he reminded them all, glancing outside and noticing with distaste that the sun was almost setting.  
  
"Hey! Where do you think this leads?" Mokuba spoke up, sticking his hand through a strange, shimmering rip in the air.  
  
"What in the name of Heaven is a portal doing here?!" Yami Bakura growled in irritation.  
  
"It could have been left by the wicked pirates," Ishizu replied slowly, "or perhaps it was left by our benefactor." She touched the Tauk. "Either way, I believe we are destined to travel through it."  
  
Mokuba let out a yelp as he was suddenly pulled in. Everyone gasped as they watched.  
  
"Mokuba!" Marik cried, diving after him.  
  
"Well, we've got no choice now, destined or not," Joey remarked. "We havta go through!"  
  
It wasn't long before the entire group had passed through and were flying about in space.  
  
"Oh man, I really hate these things!" Joey moaned.  
  
"Just don't lose your lunch near me," Mai grumbled.  
  
"I just wanna get off!" Tristan wailed.  
  
Almost instantly they all crash-landed on a hard surface and Tristan regretted his words.  
  
"Next time, wish for a soft landing," Téa pleaded.  
  
Marik struggled to get up from where he was sprawled across Rishid's chest. The older man helped him to sit up and then pulled himself up as well.  
  
"Do you guys realize we haven't slept since we took those naps right after registering in the hotel?!" Joey announced suddenly.  
  
"That's hardly a major concern right now," Yami Yugi retorted. "We only have till midnight to stop this evil, and already it's nearly evening!"  
  
"Where are we, anyway?" Joey wondered.  
  
"Not somewhere I'd pick for a vacation," Mokuba exclaimed, pointing to a nearby skull.  
  
Oreo gave a loud yowl and hiss and then reached out to attack it. Yami Bakura ignored her, muttering something about foolish felines, and concentrated solely on Bakura, who moaned again.  
  
"I doubt that trip did anything for him," the thief grunted.  
  
"What the heck are we doing in a cemetery?!" Joey screamed, messing up his hair in frustration.  
  
Rishid raised an eyebrow at his actions but said nothing.  
  
"There must be a reason we have been sent here," Yami Yugi said, walking ahead cautiously.  
  
Agreeing with him, the others advanced as well and hoped nothing ill would befall them.  
  
"Joey, don't fall in that open grave!" Marik called out abruptly.  
  
"Say what?" Joey asked, taking another step and swaying violently on the edge. The Brooklyn boy gave a cry of panic and grabbed for anything or anyone nearby who could help him. The one nearest to him, Rishid, reached out and pulled him away from the edge, sighing to himself. Both of them fell on the ground in a heap. Joey blinked, taking a deep breath. "Wow, thanks, man," he exclaimed.  
  
Rishid grunted in response.  
  
Serenity hurried over. "Are you alright, big brother?" she asked.  
  
Joey stood up and grinned. "Sure, sis," he said. "I'm just fine."  
  
Mai walked over and peered into the open grave. "I have a bad feeling about this," she remarked, narrowing her eyes.  
  
"What's an open grave doing here, with no one around to take care of it?" Téa wondered. Her eyes widened as she glanced around. "Wait! There's lots of open graves here!!" she burst out.  
  
"You're right," Duke said, coming up beside her. "It almost looks like there's . . ." He quickly counted the number he could see.  
  
"Exactly enough for all of us!" Tristan yelled.  
  
Joey gulped noticeably. "Okay, now you're creepin' me out," he declared. "We're all alive . . . right?"  
  
A horrible scream tore through the air nearby and everyone jumped.  
  
"We are, but it sounds like someone else has just met an unfortunate end!" Mako cried.  
  
"No way!" Téa wailed, starting to become so very nervous.  
  
"Let's go check it out!" Without waiting for an answer, Tristan tore off ahead.  
  
"Tristan, wait!" Serenity pleaded.  
  
"We'll have to go after him," Marik said, narrowing his eyes.  
  
Quickly everyone followed . . . and they were all shocked and disturbed to see a strange creature with a lion's body and a woman's head holding a dead body in its paws.  
  
"What . . . what's that thing?!" Joey gasped, seeing Tristan paralyzed with fear.  
  
"A sphinx, you moron," Yami Bakura snapped, pulling Bakura's body closer to him. The boy was starting to stir now, and if the first thing he saw was the grotesque scene before them, Yami Bakura knew that he was very likely to be sickened.  
  
As Yugi was right now. "What's she done?!" he burst out, his violet eyes widening considerably.  
  
"The mythological sphinx usually is guarding something important," Yami Yugi explained.  
  
"That is correct," Ishizu said softly. "If anyone attempts to pass by, the sphinx will ask them a riddle or two. If they guess it correctly, they may proceed."  
  
"But if they guess wrong, they are destroyed," Rishid finished, narrowing his eyes.  
  
"Oh!" Serenity said in horror, putting her hand to her mouth.  
  
"Hey, it'll be fine, sis!" Joey tried to comfort her. "Your big brother won't let anything like that happen to us!"  
  
Mai rolled her eyes. "Since when have you been good at riddles?" she wanted to know.  
  
Joey glared at her. "I've always been good at it!!" he retorted.  
  
Bakura's eyes fluttered open and he looked up at Yami Bakura in confusion. "Yami, where are we?" he asked softly. "And . . . why do I have this horrible feeling?!"  
  
Yami Bakura snorted. "Don't worry about it, fool," he told him.  
  
Now the sphinx was turning toward them. "Ah. Dinner," she smiled.  
  
Unintimidated, Marik stepped forward to face her. "We were brought here by a portal," he said, explaining of their mission and the little time they had left in which to complete it.  
  
The sphinx licked her lips and sat down. "Well, if you have truly been selected and are not imposters, such as the one who just attempted to get through, then you should be able to answer my riddle easily." She paused. "Hmm. Because it's such an important quest, let's make it more interesting. Three riddles."  
  
"Three?!" Joey cried indignantly.  
  
Lazily the beast raised her paw and showed Joey her claws. "I trust it won't be too hard for you," she purred.  
  
Oreo hissed loudly and it was all Yami Bakura could do to hold her back from attacking.  
  
Bakura just stared in wide-eyed astonishment, not sure whether to be awed or frightened out of his wits.  
  
"We accept your terms," Yami Yugi declared, proclaiming himself the spokesperson for the group.  
  
"Very well." The sphinx got up and began to pace, enjoying making them nervous. "You have one minute on each riddle to consult with the others of your party and come up with the answer." She walked up near Yami Yugi and curled her tail around his leg. "First riddle. 'It fills the heart, but craving still, man, though full, it cannot fill.'"  
  
Joey's eyes bugged out. "WHAT??!!!" he cried.  
  
Duke grabbed him forcefully. "Come on, don't make it angry," he hissed. "Everyone's necks are on the line here!"  
  
"But what the heck could it mean?!" Tristan said in frustration. "This is gonna be harder than I thought!"  
  
Mako was silent for a while, deep in thought. "I believe I have the answer," he said, and told them.  
  
"Yes," Ishizu nodded, "that is it."  
  
Yami Yugi turned back to the creature. "Greed," he said simply. "It fills the hearts of men, but they are never satisfied with what they have and always want more."  
  
The sphinx smiled. "Well done, Mr. Tsunami," she said, addressing Mako.  
  
"She knows our names?!" Joey cried. Everyone ignored him.  
  
"Next riddle," the sphinx said calmly. "'It crushes the weak, it rules the poor, but he who owns it, it rules the more.'"  
  
Bakura blinked, still horribly confused but beginning to understand what was happening. He was about to give his opinion when Mokuba took the words right out of his mouth.  
  
"I know!" Mokuba exclaimed. "Power! It's gotta be power!"  
  
Marik looked away. "Yes," he said finally. "That must be the answer." Rishid laid a hand on his brother's shoulder.  
  
The sphinx began to wash herself. "Not bad," she said. "Power is the answer. I take it that you craved power at some point in your life."   
  
Marik chose not to answer.  
  
Now the beast closed her eyes to slits. "Now. Last one. If you get it right, you may pass on to complete your destinies. But if you tell me wrong . . ." She sneered at them all.  
  
"Hey!! No one makes a salad out of Joey Wheeler!" the blonde boy yelled indignantly.  
  
Marik looked rather disgusted at Joey's choice of words but chose to ignore him again. "What is the riddle?" he asked.  
  
The sphinx smiled. "'What walks on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three in the evening'?"  
  
Joey slumped against a tree. "Oh man . . ."  
  
Serenity smiled at him. "I know you can come up with the right answer, Joey!" she declared.  
  
Joey tried to smile back, then suddenly stood up straight. "Heck, yeah, I can!" he said, slamming his fist into his palm. "Now let's see . . ." He became deep in thought, trying to unravel the confusing mystery.  
  
Téa sighed. "This really is hard," she said, shaking her head.  
  
"Thirty seconds!" the sphinx informed them.  
  
"I'm totally stumped!" Tristan wailed.  
  
"The answer must be simple," Yami Yugi said, closing his eyes. "It seems complicated, but it truly is not, if we only think about it. . . ."  
  
Yami Bakura growled, then smirked suddenly.  
  
"Do you know, Yami?" Bakura asked hopefully.  
  
"It is a man," the thief replied.  
  
"A man?!" Tristan said in disbelief.  
  
"Yes," Marik nodded. "He crawls on his hands and knees as an infant, walks on his two legs as an adult, and carries a cane in his later years, making three 'legs.'"  
  
"Is that your final answer?" the sphinx asked.  
  
"It is," Yami Yugi said evenly.  
  
Abruptly the creature gave a screech and dissolved into nothing.  
  
"Hey! Yell in your own ear!" Joey said indignantly.  
  
A loud creak interrupted them all as a door appeared from out of nowhere.  
  
"Now what?!" Mai moaned.  
  
"Now . . ." Yami Yugi stepped forward. "We go inside."  
  
****  
  
"Mr. Kaiba, sir!" Alyson shrieked as they ran along down the corridor.  
  
"What is it?" Seto asked, preoccupied with finding the exit.  
  
"Look out!!" came the worried reply.  
  
"Huh?" Seto dove out of the way just as a spear struck where he had been standing a moment before.  
  
"Something's wrong!" Alyson said worriedly, grabbing the Ankh tightly.  
  
Ten more spears rained down from above them, going in a straight line as Seto grabbed Alyson and ran. The last one caught him in the shoulder and he gasped, his eyes widening.  
  
"Mr. Kaiba??!!" Alyson shrieked.  
  
Seto groaned, trying to pull the weapon out of his flesh and failing.  
  
An evil laugh echoed throughout the corridors. "It seems, Seto Kaiba, that you're my catch of the day!" With that a strange figure somersaulted down next to them and sneered.  
  
Alyson screamed. "No!! Not you!! Anyone but you!!" 


	16. The Tunnel of Endless Misery

Seto stared in frustrated disbelief, struggling to stand upright. This was definitely not the kind of surprise he looked forward to.  
  
Lou, Alyson's wicked uncle from the ranch, grinned evilly. "It certainly is me, child," he replied, reaching for Alyson. "And it's been so long, hasn't it?"  
  
"Stay away from me!" the little girl screamed, raising the Ankh.  
  
Lou didn't look impressed. "That trinket won't stop me, foolish girl!"  
  
"Oh yeah? Well, Shadi entrusted it to me!" Alyson retorted. "I'll triumph over you any day!"  
  
"Shadi?" Lou grunted. "That washed-up Egyptian guardian is dead! His Ankh didn't protect him, and it won't protect you!"  
  
Tears filled Alyson's eyes but she struggled to keep her cool. She knew Shadi was alive, but he had warned her not to tell anyone. So she knew she couldn't, no matter how much she might like to.  
  
While this was going on, Seto was pulling at the spear again, trying desperately to dislodge it. He knew that if he didn't remove it soon, he would pass out—and he couldn't let that happen.  
  
Lou turned to look at him. "Don't expect to be getting that out anytime soon," he grinned.  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked, ignoring the blood spilling over his hands as he gave the weapon another tug.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure the poison will take over first," Lou informed him.  
  
That didn't improve Seto's mood any. "Poison again, huh?" he said, his blue eyes icy and cold. "That seems to be your preferred method of dealing with things."  
  
"It gets the job done," Lou shrugged. "Once you're dead, half our problems will be over!"  
  
"You'll never have the pleasure of killing me," Seto snapped, already feeling himself beginning to weaken. Idly he wondered how Lou had escaped the ranch wraiths' wrath.  
  
"I beg to differ," Lou sneered. "It should happen fairly soon now."  
  
"Stop it!!" Alyson screamed. "Just stop it!! You're a horrible, evil man and you're gonna be sorry for hurting all those people!! I'm not gonna let you kill Mr. Kaiba!!"  
  
Lou crossed his arms. "Well, I'd be interested to know how you plan to stop me," he taunted.  
  
Alyson bit her lip, searching her young mind for any possible ideas on how to do so.  
  
While she was trying, Seto suddenly felt someone else take hold of the spear and promptly yank it out. His eyes widened, partially from the pain but mostly from the shock of having someone come to help him . . . someone he couldn't even see.  
  
Lou seemed not to notice, at least not at first. But after a moment he turned to Seto in irritation. "Why haven't you collapsed yet?" he demanded, and then noticed the bloodied spear laying on the ground. "What the . . ."  
  
Seto smirked. "I don't think the sac of poison was released into my system," he said, pointing to the tip of the javelin. "So you won't be poisoning me today."  
  
Alyson let out a sigh of relief and smiled widely. She knew who had came to help Seto.  
  
Lou clenched his fists, angry that his plans had been thwarted. "Well, at any rate, you must have lost a lot of blood by now," he said, narrowing his eyes. "I'd say you'll most likely lose consciousness from that before long. And meanwhile . . ." Abruptly he grabbed the javelin and whirled on Alyson, who screamed and backed up against the wall in horror.  
  
Furious, Seto grabbed the spear with the last remaining bits of his strength. "You monster," he hissed. "She's only a kid." Hatred for his adopted father, Gozaburo, burned within him as he clutched the weapon tighter in his hand. He almost fantasized that he saw Gozaburo in Lou's place, but before he could do anything more the boy slumped over, rendered unconscious by the severity of his wound—just as Lou had predicted.  
  
Alyson turned to look at his motionless body, horrified. "Mr. Kaiba?! MR. KAIBA??!!" she shrieked, obviously terrified that someone else was going to die right in front of her eyes.  
  
Lou laughed. "This is going well," he said. "And I've just gotten word that the Ishtar boy has entered our dimension. He should be here before long. And when he comes, there's gonna be fireworks!" He drew his finger across his neck in the "someone will die" motion.  
  
"No!!" Alyson protested as Lou unmercifully grabbed Seto and began dragging him along. "No, you're gonna be stopped!"  
  
"Take courage, Alyson," Shadi's voice whispered near her. "Everything will be alright."  
  
Tears slipped from the little girl's eyes. "I hope so," she said softly.  
  
****  
  
In the meantime, everyone else was passing through the door that had opened for them.  
  
"So, uh, where do you think we're going?" Joey asked, glancing around uncomfortably as they began wandering down a long corridor that started bright but grew darker as they advanced through it.  
  
"I couldn't even begin to guess," Yami Yugi replied.  
  
"Well, that's certainly reassuring," Mai said sarcastically.  
  
"I believe we've passed into another dimension," Martin spoke up.  
  
"You mean like the Shadow Realm?" Téa exclaimed.  
  
"Something like that, but not exactly," Martin answered. "But it is another realm inside our own. In order to defeat the evil, we must journey through this realm until we come to the Cave of Despair."  
  
"What a nice name," Marik remarked cynically.  
  
Viper, meanwhile, hadn't given up on Rishid. She was walking alongside the man and occasionally shooting glances up at him, though she hadn't said anything for a while. She knew that Rishid wasn't interested in her, but that only made her more attracted to him. She didn't like it when the men just blindly fell all over her. Rishid, she could tell, was someone very level-headed and serious, and not one to go nuts over a pretty girl flirting with him.  
  
Up ahead, Bakura gave a horrible cry of panic and everyone came to attention.  
  
"What's wrong with that moron now?!" Yami Bakura grumped.  
  
They soon found out as Bakura came tearing out of the shadows, his face pale and his eyes wide as several bony hands hung from his long, silvery hair. "It's horrible!!" he screamed, shaking all over. "Oh dear . . . oh . . ."  
  
"Man, Bakura, what have you been getting into?!" Tristan gasped.  
  
Yami Bakura walked up to the rattled teenager and removed one of the hands from his locks. "It would appear that you have had an encounter with several skeletons," the tomb raider said with a raised eyebrow. "Hardly a reason to go into a frenzy."  
  
Bakura leaned back against the dark wall, willing his heart to slow down to its normal pace. "It was terrible," he choked out. "They . . . they're everywhere . . . reaching out to grab you . . . wanting you to become one of them. . . ."  
  
Ishizu looked concerned. "The undead," she said quietly.  
  
"The WHAT??!!" Joey yelped. "You mean, like, zombies and stuff?!"  
  
"Something like that," Ishizu replied calmly, though inwardly she was growing quite concerned. "We must proceed with the utmost caution. They want to recruit anyone still living to be part of their army, for they are intensely jealous of those who still are free to walk the earth of their own volition."  
  
"Oh, well that's just wonderful," Duke grumbled. "Any one of us might be turned into a zombie and come attacking the others."  
  
"Yes," Yami Yugi said grimly, "and we can't allow it to happen. There's too much else at stake."  
  
Mokuba shuddered as they went deeper into the hallway, the mention of zombies having a personal effect on him. Unconsciously he tightly grabbed his best friend's hand, not wanting to get separated and grabbed by one of the wandering creatures. As they went deeper into the corridor, he found that he could hardly stand to be there at all.  
  
Marik noticed his actions and looked at him with concern. "What is it, my friend?" he asked kindly, certain that this was more than simple fear.  
  
Mokuba looked away, not wanting to answer at first. "I was controlled by a zombie once," he admitted softly. "Last Halloween."  
  
Marik was shocked, to say the least. "I see," he replied finally, not sure what to say.  
  
Mokuba gave him a weak smile. "Do you think I'm crazy?"  
  
"No," Marik told him without hesitation. "That . . . must have been hard for you," he said carefully.  
  
Tears filled Mokuba's eyes. "I nearly killed Seto!" he wailed, tensing as he felt bony fingers grab at his shoulder.  
  
Sensing them as well, Marik drew the Rod and whacked at the disembodied hand, then smirked with a certain satisfaction when he heard a clunk behind them.  
  
"Be careful, brother," Ishizu said softly.  
  
Marik nodded in reply before turning his attention back to Mokuba. "You couldn't help what your body was doing, my friend," he said gently.  
  
"I know. . . ." Mokuba gave a sad sigh. "That's what Seto said too. But I can't help feeling upset about it."  
  
Overhearing, Rishid's heart went out to Mokuba. He understood exactly what the poor boy was going through.  
  
"Well . . ." Marik said now, "I've learned that it's better to not dwell on the what ifs and if onlys. The past is past and we have to move on. You were able to stop yourself in time and take control."  
  
"But that's just it, Marik!" Mokuba sobbed. "I couldn't stop myself!! The limo crashed and I went flying out! If that hadn't happened . . ."  
  
Marik didn't know what to say, except to reassure Mokuba that the bond siblings shared was stronger than any villains' power—essentially the same thing he had told Rishid the previous night. The Egyptian boy now hoped that Mokuba—and Rishid—would both take his words to heart and be able to set the past aside.  
  
"YAAAAAA!!!"  
  
Joey's scream suddenly rent the air and everyone turned to see him frantically struggling with a skeleton on the ground.  
  
"Man, how strong are these things?!" the Brooklyn boy yelled.  
  
"Joey!!" Serenity gasped, trying to run forward to help him.  
  
At last Joey received a burst of energy and he was able to throw the skeleton back against the wall, where it smashed into pieces. "Alright!" he grinned, leaping to his feet and smirking. "That'll teach you to mess with Joey Wheeler!"  
  
"I knew you wouldn't let it get the better of you, big brother!" Serenity smiled.  
  
They continued in silence for the next few minutes, the only sounds being that of the skeletons stalking them.  
  
"We are almost through the Tunnel of Endless Misery," Ishizu said finally after Rishid punched a skeleton clear across the hall.  
  
"Man, who named these places anyway?!" Tristan burst out.  
  
"That hardly matters," Yami Yugi retorted.  
  
Throughout all of this, Oreo had been yowling loudly and now the furry feline was curled up in Bakura's shirt, deciding that she was protecting him from the zombies' wrath. "MEROW!!" she hissed, clawing at an approaching hand.  
  
A loud thump up ahead made everyone freeze.  
  
"I don't like the sound of that," Viper said, narrowing her eyes.  
  
Without warning the zombies descended upon Bakura, forcing him up against the wall. The poor boy stared at them with utter terror in his eyes. "HELP!!!" he screamed, being pulled under. "Oh please, someone, HELP!!!"  
  
"We'll get you free, Bakura!" Yugi yelled as he and the others all ran forward.  
  
"Foolish mortals!!" Yami Bakura's irritated voice rang out. "You have no concept of what you are plunging into!!" Furiously he threw a Morphing Jar into the mix, catching all of the zombies neatly and sending them to the Shadow Realm.  
  
Bakura still stayed plastered against the wall, breathing heavily, his brown eyes a picture of horror. Oreo meowed piteously, trying to comfort him.  
  
Suddenly Yami Bakura gave a gasp of pain, his eyes going blank.  
  
"Yami?!" Bakura screamed, coming back to the present. "YAMI??!!"  
  
"What's wrong with him?!" Téa burst out.  
  
"He's been infected!!" Yami Yugi yelled. "They caught him off his guard!"  
  
The thief slumped over, revealing a skeleton tightly clutching onto his back and causing blood to drip down over the creature's bony arms.  
  
"YAMI??!!!" Bakura ran over, frantic. "Yami, no!!!"  
  
Now Yami Bakura straightened up, looking through Bakura and raising a hand to grab for his neck. Horrified, the British boy grabbed his Yami's wrist and held it tightly, struggling to not let go.  
  
"How is this possible?!" Marik cried. "He is already dead, technically. How can they infect him?!"  
  
"Because of Bakura and the Millennium Ring, Yami Bakura can still create a physical body for himself when he wants," Yami Yugi replied. "The zombies are perhaps even more jealous of him than of any mere mortal. With Yami Bakura as their puppet, they could easily destroy us all. And we don't have time to be dealing with this." He narrowed his eyes as blood trickled from the ancient tomb raider's mouth. "There is only one thing we can do to ensure that this evil stops right now so that we can proceed with our mission."  
  
"And what is that?" Rishid asked.  
  
Yami Yugi looked away, knowing that what he had to say would crush Bakura horribly. "We have to destroy the spirit of the Ring." 


	17. Drastic Turn

A hush fell over the entire group, broken only by Bakura's anguished wail.  
  
"NO!!" he screamed. "No, you can't kill him!!! I WON'T LET YOU!!!"  
  
"Bakura," Yami Yugi said quietly, "even if we remove the skeleton, he will still be infected. We cannot get him back now."  
  
"Don't say that!!" Bakura ran over and grabbed his Yami by the shoulders. "He might hear you!!!"  
  
Yami Bakura growled and shoved Bakura back against the wall. The boy groaned and slumped to the ground, his brown eyes wide with horror.  
  
"Bakura!!" Yugi cried, running over to him.  
  
Now Yami Bakura turned to face the others, slowly reaching into his deck and preparing to pull out the Man-Eater Bug.  
  
"Take that!!" Tristan yelled, suddenly lashing out and delivering a karate kick to the skeleton perched on the tomb raider's back. It crumbled easily, but Yami Bakura was unfazed.  
  
"I told you, that will not help him now," Yami Yugi said, shaking his head.  
  
Téa backed up against the wall in horror as Yami Bakura sneered and allowed the Man-Eater Bug to come forth and stand in front of her. "I don't think my purse will squash this bug!" she cried, her blue eyes wide with horror.  
  
"Oh no! Téa!!" Yami Yugi narrowed his eyes, preparing to move forward.  
  
Yugi stood up shakily, his eyes wide.  
  
"MEOOOOOOOW!!!!!!!"  
  
Yami Yugi started in surprise as Oreo leaped into his path and hissed loudly.  
  
"There has to be another way!" Bakura cried, shakily getting up. "If it was someone else, wouldn't you be trying to save them instead of kill them?!"  
  
The Pharaoh stopped in his tracks, Bakura's words striking him. "I am only thinking of the greater good," he replied at last. "We cannot allow the world to be destroyed, but that will happen if we stop to fight this tomb raider."  
  
"I don't think the cat is gonna let you through," Joey remarked as Oreo showed Yami Yugi her claws.  
  
Téa shrieked as the Man-Eater Bug inched closer to her. Her heart pounding, she gave it a harsh whack with her purse. Unfazed, it batted the bag away against the opposite wall.  
  
Narrowing his eyes, Marik charged forward and plunged the dagger into the body of the monstrous bug. It gave a loud screech and reached up, thrusting its talons into the boy's leg. Marik screamed in agony, toppling over on top of the creature.  
  
"MARIK!!" Rishid yelled in horror. He and Ishizu tried to run forward to him, but Yami Bakura blocked their path.  
  
"Foolish mortals," he said, his voice echoing strangely and unnaturally, "do you actually think I will let you pass? The Ishtar boy is ours now!" He gestured back, to where both the Man-Eater Bug and Marik were vanishing.  
  
"No!!! BROTHER!!!" Ishizu screamed, going a deathly pale.  
  
"Where is he??!!!" Mokuba yelled, wanting nothing more than to grab Yami Bakura and pull him to the ground. "What've you done with him???!!!"  
  
"Oh . . . all in good time." Yami Bakura turned slightly. "He'll be joining your brother, little Mokuba, and then they will both be sacrificed to bring forth a creature the likes of which none of you have ever before seen!" He grinned maniacally.  
  
"Are we absolutely sure this isn't the real Yami B?" Tristan wondered, raising an eyebrow. He especially had an intense dislike of the old thief because of their past run-in at Pegasus's castle.  
  
"It's not him, Tristan!!" Bakura said indignantly.  
  
The third eye glowed on Yami Yugi's forehead. "No, it is not," he agreed, "but still, I cannot allow this to go on any longer. Now things are much more grave. The enemy has both of our allies captive and they won't hesitate to dispose of them."  
  
Téa shakily peeled herself off the wall, her heart pounding. She couldn't help feeling that this was her fault. Marik had been trying to rescue her when the bug had attacked him. And now . . . now . . .  
  
Yami Bakura laughed dementedly. "Of course, I can't just allow you to all run free, now, can I? If I do that, then my side won't win. And I can't have that." Without warning he whirled on Bakura, raising the Millennium Rod that had been dropped by its destined holder. "I will start by destroying this fool."  
  
Bakura screamed as he was dragged to the floor. "NO!!! YAMI, STOP!!!" he wailed, frantically trying to push the old thief away from him.  
  
"ENOUGH!!!" Yami Yugi yelled in outrage, chanting an ancient spell.  
  
Yami Bakura shouted in pain as he was raised into the air, the age-old magic all striking him at once. Everyone watched in a sort of horrified awe as the spirit was engulfed entirely in the light. When it cleared, his lifeless body was suspended in the air as if he had been hanged.   
  
The empty eyes focused on Bakura for one brief moment. "You are a fool . . . to care for me," were Yami Bakura's dying words.  
  
The Millennium Ring came loose from around his neck and dropped to the ground with a clunk of finality, followed in quick succession by what was left of the thief.  
  
No one said anything for the longest time. They couldn't speak. Even those who didn't care for Yami Bakura were stunned.  
  
A heart-breaking wail broke the silence.  
  
"YAMI!!!!!!!" Bakura stumbled over, his eyes filling with tears. "YAMI, NO!!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS??!! HOW COULD YOU???!!! YOU KILLED HIM!!!! YOU KILLED MY YAMI!!!!!"  
  
Yugi turned to stare at his Yami, his face a picture of shock and alarm. But Yami Yugi only turned away as Bakura continued to sob, his expression cold.  
  
****  
  
Marik moaned, laying still on the ground. He couldn't remember what had happened; all he could remember was the agonizing pain he was still feeling.  
  
"So. You are alive."  
  
The sarcastic voice came from somewhere above him and he struggled to get his eyes open. Seto Kaiba was chained to a post, looking down with a tired smirk.  
  
Marik grunted and tried to stand, failing each time.  
  
"If your legs are hurt that badly, don't bother," Seto remarked, trying to figure out how to free himself from the chains binding him. "There must be a reason why they didn't even tie you up, and that must be it."  
  
"My legs aren't broken," Marik retorted. "I have to get up!" He tried one more time and hissed in pain. "You do realize what will happen to those we love if we can't get out of this."  
  
"It's not gonna happen," Seto growled. "There's no way I'm gonna let anything happen to Mokuba. That monster is not gonna get released."  
  
A shadow fell across Marik as he gasped for breath after another useless attempt at standing.  
  
"Oh, now, isn't this nice?" Vivalene purred. "You're both getting along so wonderfully."  
  
"You devil!" Marik clenched his fists. "What have you done with the others?!"  
  
"They're safe . . . for now," Vivalene smiled. "Of course poor Bakaré the tomb raider kicked the bucket, but that was done by one of your group's own members. Not very loyal to each other, are they?"  
  
Both Seto and Marik simply glared at her.  
  
"Anyway . . ." Vivalene sneered. "It would be rather nice to have them here for the show. They should witness what's about to happen." She gestured about. "There's no way they could possibly stop us!"  
  
"Oh yeah?!" Seto gave the chain another weak yank. "I think you're forgetting something. We have the power to stop you."  
  
Vivalene only laughed. "Yes, you certainly are in a position to stop me," she said, kicking Marik's injured leg. The boy screamed, falling flat on the floor. "Admit your defeat, darlings. There's nothing you can do to halt our plan this time!"  
  
The Middle-Eastern man watched all of this, unseen, from his place atop a high ledge. "Only they can unlock the way of their success," he uttered low. "They must seek guidance and be ready to listen for the answer."  
  
****  
  
Pain shot through Rishid and he doubled over, the agony obvious on his face.  
  
"What is it, my brother?!" Ishizu cried.  
  
"It is Marik," Rishid said softly. "He is hurting. . . ." A tear slipped from his eye.  
  
Ishizu bit her lip. "He will be strong. But we must get to him!" She glanced over at Bakura uncomfortably as the boy cradled his Yami's body, not knowing if he would ever get over this horror.  
  
Yugi and Mai tried to approach their friend, but he seemed to not even realize they were there.  
  
"Yami?" he whispered. "Yami, it's going to be alright. You're going to get up and everything will be okay. . . ."  
  
Oreo gave a mournful wail, nudging Yami Bakura's hand. Upon not receiving an answer, the cat crawled up in his shirt and tried to massage his chest with her paws.  
  
"Oh Yugi. . . ." Téa stared in horror. "Yugi, how could this have happened?!" She couldn't bear to see Bakura so stricken and anguished.  
  
"I don't know, Téa," Yugi said sadly, his feelings mixed. Yes, it had been dangerous and Yami Bakura could have destroyed us all, but did Yami have to . . . to. . . .  
  
The boy looked up at the Pharaoh, who was staring out at the desolation and not facing any of them. ~Yami?~ he called tentatively through their bond.  
  
Yami Yugi refused to reply, instead turning and preparing to walk off. "We must be on our way," he said aloud. "We have squandered enough time."  
  
Immediately Yugi ran over and got in front of him. "Yami, how can you be so cold??!!" he screamed. "HOW??!! Don't you even care what Bakura is going through??!! Look at him, Yami!!! Look what you've done!!!!" Tears spilled from his eyes.  
  
Yami Yugi looked away. "I didn't want to do it, Yugi."  
  
It was then that Yugi saw the Pharaoh's eyes glistening. He was crying as well.  
  
"It was the last thing I wanted to do," Yami Yugi continued. "But if I hadn't done anything, Bakura would been the one to die. Would you have wanted that?"  
  
"Of course not!!" Yugi burst out. "But Yami . . . what if . . . what if Yami Bakura could've broke free? What if he could have and you . . . you . . ." He stopped, unable to get the rest of the sentence out. "Wasn't it the real Yami Bakura at the end?" he whispered. "After you attacked him and he was hanging there. . . When he spoke to Bakura . . . wasn't that him?  
  
Yami Yugi clenched his fists and ignored the question. "It's too late for 'what ifs', Yugi. What's done is done." He started to walk off into the darkness ahead, leaving Yugi staring after him.  
  
Joey, meanwhile, was holding Serenity close to him, it only now dawning on him how close he'd come to becoming like Yami Bakura. But what disturbed him most was, Would Yami Yugi have done the same thing to him that he'd done to Yami Bakura?  
  
"Oh Joey," Serenity sobbed. "This is terrible!! How do you ever stand to keep on solving these mysteries?! How do you do it??!!!"  
  
Joey looked away. "I wish I knew, sis," he said truthfully, watching Bakura with sadness. "I wish I knew."  
  
Mokuba was standing stunned by this latest turn of events. He could barely believe any of it, and yet . . . he knew it was real. Bakura didn't have anyone now. He had already lost all of his family, and now with his Yami gone, there was no one left.  
  
Tears threatened to fall from the young boy's eyes. What if he was in Bakura's place? What if he didn't have anyone? What if the ones he loved more than anything wound up . . .  
  
No!! No, he wouldn't let it happen!! He had to stop it!! Somehow, someway, he would!! He swore he would!!  
  
And without another word Mokuba turned and ran off into the darkness. 


	18. Foiled Plans

"Mokuba! Stop!!"  
  
The boy heard Yami Yugi's voice behind him as he passed the Pharaoh, but he refused to acknowledge him. He had to find Seto and Marik! He *had* to!  
  
Abruptly there was a glow of light and the veiled man appeared in Mokuba's path.  
  
"You will not save them this way," he said quietly.  
  
"I'm not gonna stand around and do nothing!" Mokuba said defensively.  
  
"You do not comprehend the gravity of the situation, young Mokuba," the man replied, crossing his arms. "They have their destiny and you have yours. You cannot interfere with what they must do."  
  
"You sound like someone else I know," Mokuba muttered, then suddenly noticed he was alone. The stranger had vanished.  
  
"Mokuba!"  
  
He turned, seeing the others running up to him.  
  
"Mokuba, what were you thinking, you crazy kid?!" Joey burst out. "We should stick together!!"  
  
"But Seto and Marik are being hurt!" Mokuba wailed. "They're being hurt, and I can't believe that's their destiny!"  
  
Ishizu looked away, feeling tears rising. "It shouldn't be anyone's destiny," she said finally.  
  
"Guys!!" came Tristan's upset voice. "I can't find Kamara!!"  
  
"What?!" Téa exclaimed. "Oh no! She must've been captured while we were distracted!"  
  
Yami Yugi narrowed his eyes. "Stay silent," he said sternly. "I sense danger nearby."  
  
A wild laugh echoed throughout the corridors as many wraiths surrounded them all. "That's putting it rather mildly, Pharaoh," Lou's voice laughed. "Now we have you all right where we want you, and we'll never let you go free!!"  
  
****  
  
Seto tensed as the whip connected with his flesh again and again. The pirates were finding great delight in torturing him and Marik before they proceeded on to killing them and releasing the beast.  
  
Marik cried out as the whip wrapped around his wounded leg and was pulled taut. Gasping, the Egyptian boy grabbed at the post Seto was chained to, struggling to keep his consciousness in check.  
  
"You both look absolutely pathetic," the lead pirate sneered.  
  
Seto's eyes narrowed. "Feel free to keep tormenting us, but it won't help you with your plot."  
  
"Oh? And why not?" Another thug finally relaxed the pressure on Marik's leg and the boy went limp, breathing heavily.  
  
"Because the longer you keep us alive, the better chance we'll have of stopping you." Seto exchanged a look with Marik and they both nodded. They now knew what must be done.  
  
"You can't stop us," the leader objected. "Not when the color of your blood is all over your pathetic bodies."  
  
Seto grunted. "Just keep thinking that and it'll be your downfall." In the next moment his eyes went wide as his injured shoulder was struck.  
  
"Just shut up," the thug growled.  
  
"Oh, so you are afraid that we speak the truth," Marik observed.  
  
"Never!!" The leader used the whip to lash around Marik's choker, tightening the pressure on his throat.  
  
The boy's eyes began to water. Not again!! he thought desperately, trying to pull it away.  
  
"What a bunch of losers," Seto commented in disgust. "You're all cowards!"  
  
"You dare to call us cowards?!" came the enraged reply as a blunt object connected with Seto's head.  
  
"That only proves it all the more," Seto choked out before drifting into unconsciousness from the blow.  
  
Frustrated, Marik reached out and grabbed for the whip, pulling on it hard. "I've had enough!!" he growled.  
  
"You can't even stand up," the bully taunted. "You're easy pickings!"  
  
"I'll show you 'easy pickings,'" Marik retorted, tugging on the whip with all of his strength and winding up pulling his attacker to the floor.  
  
"Why you little . . ." The man let out a vile curse which Marik just ignored. "You're gonna pay for that!!"  
  
"I'd like to see you try." Marik gazed at him with steely eyes, not intimidated.  
  
Snarling, the man violently lunged, certain that it would be easy to subdue the injured boy. Marik quickly proved him wrong, rolling out of the way and letting him crash to the floor again.  
  
Instantly five others descended upon Marik, forcing him to hold still.  
  
"You arrogant creature," one of them growled, holding him up by his neck. Marik struggled, but in vain—as his captor had a build like Rishid's. "Just settle down and be a good sacrifice."  
  
"Not by all the sands in Egypt," Marik grunted, kicking out with his uninjured leg and hitting the man in the face.  
  
The bully cried out as blood poured from his nose. "I'll be glad to see you dead," he hissed.  
  
****  
  
Yami Yugi looked around at the wraiths, his eyes narrowed. "I could easily destroy all of these creatures, Lou. What is the meaning of this?!" he demanded.  
  
One of the wraiths reached out and snatched Yugi up into the air. The boy gave a cry of surprise and panic.  
  
"Oh!! Yugi!!" Téa shrieked.  
  
"Hey!! Put our friend down, you creepy Ringwraith!" Joey yelled indignantly.  
  
Yami Yugi stood in shock and alarm as he watched, his face draining of color.  
  
"Ah, I expect you'll abide by my terms," Lou sneered, stepping out. "After all, you don't want this boy you protect to be harmed."  
  
Yugi gasped, his eyes wide. "Yami, don't do what they want!!" he pleaded. "Please! Don't do it!!" He tensed as a sharp claw brushed against his neck.  
  
Lou grinned. "Well, Pharaoh? I hear that you believe in the greater good. Is that so?"  
  
Yami Yugi clenched his fists, realizing where this was going. "I believe in it when the situation calls for it," he said finally.  
  
"Well," Lou smiled, "I'd say this one calls for it. Either relinquish Yugi to us or all of you perish."  
  
"What??!!" Joey burst out.  
  
"Yami, you have to think of the others," Yugi whispered.  
  
Yami Yugi stood still, his mind and heart in turmoil. How could he leave Yugi to the mercy of those fiends? Was it possible that . . . that his actions against Yami Bakura were not simply for the greater good, as he had said? Had part of him perhaps just wanted the evil tomb raider gone?  
  
He closed his eyes tightly. No . . . that couldn't be. . . . He'd known how much it would crush Bakura. He'd told Yugi the truth when he'd said he hadn't wanted to do it.  
  
And yet now . . . with Yugi's life in danger, it somehow seemed different than the previous situation.  
  
I have to concentrate, Yami Yugi knew. Something is amiss. Lou is toying with my mind. He just wants to see what I will do. The outcome will be the same no matter what I decide.  
  
And so, with that truth in mind, the Pharaoh spoke at last.  
  
"This is not the time for sick jokes, Lou. I know it doesn't really matter what I decide here. You will destroy us all just the same."  
  
Lou crossed his arms. "Well . . . I give up. You're right." He smirked. "But before you all go, you must watch our spectacular show."  
  
"What's he babbling about?" Mai asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"He wants us to watch them unleash the beast," Duke replied grimly. "It'll be like the final blow. We came all this way and couldn't stop them."  
  
"Oh, we'll stop 'em, alright!" Joey yelled, trying to rush forward and attack. "Lemme at 'em!!"  
  
Tristan and Duke held him back in frustration.  
  
"Come on, Joey, don't be an idiot," Tristan sighed.  
  
"This isn't the time for one of your stunts," Duke added. "That's what they want! It's their version of entertainment."  
  
Roughly Lou walked over to Bakura and hauled him up. "Come on now," he growled.  
  
Bakura barely noticed or cared. "Yami has to come with us," he said softly, the fight gone out of him.  
  
Lou shrugged. "Fine. What do I care?"  
  
Oreo gave a loud yowl and sprang out, scratching Lou across the face. "MEOOOOW!!" she yelled, almost as if to say, "This one's for Yami Bakura!"  
  
Instantly Lou let go of the boy, clutching his cheek in anger. "Stupid cat," he growled.  
  
Before anyone could do a thing, the wraiths multiplied without warning and grabbed each and every one of them.  
  
"Uh, Yug?" Joey said nervously. "I really don't like this part."  
  
Yugi narrowed his eyes. "I don't, either, Joey," he said. "We'll just have to hope and pray that Kaiba and Marik will come through for us. After all . . . they *are* the only ones who can make sure the beast never comes back."  
  
****  
  
Mokuba tensed as they were dragged to a ledge overlooking a horrible, never-ending pit of darkness. Screams echoed about him . . . familiar screams. . . .  
  
In horror he looked up to see Seto and Marik far above him on another ledge, both being mercilessly whipped and beaten.  
  
"NO!!" the little boy cried out. "SETO!! MARIK!!" He struggled against the phantom holding him captive, but to no avail.  
  
"BROTHER!!" Ishizu shrieked, her eyes wide in alarm.  
  
Rishid stood still, frozen with rage and anger at the situation. He wanted nothing more than to get up to that ledge and throw Marik's attacker into the pit, but he knew there was nothing he could do.  
  
Lou stepped out in front of them all. "I think that's enough of that," he called up to the tormentors. "We have a monster to unleash."  
  
Seto growled as the chains were unlocked. He stumbled violently, the only thing holding him up having been the manacles and the post.  
  
Marik moaned as he was prodded with a javelin. He felt as if he could never manage to stand up, but he knew that was what these people wanted and that he couldn't let them win.  
  
"The time is now!" the veiled stranger's voice rang out from the shadows. "You understand what you must do, and now you must do it!"  
  
Lou narrowed his eyes. "What the . . ." He looked around, trying to determine where the voice was coming from.  
  
Marik suddenly kicked out with great effort, knocking the would-be executioner off his feet. "You'll never take me alive," he murmured, managing to stand and then somersaulting off the ledge into the darkness before he could be caught again.  
  
Ishizu screamed, covering her mouth with her hands. Rishid stared in horror, calling their brother's name.  
  
Seto took the opportunity to grab the spear away from his own attacker and break it in half. Throwing the pieces aside, he looked down and smiled at Mokuba before diving overboard as well.  
  
Mokuba went pale. "BIG BROTHER!! MARIK!!!" Breaking free of the wraith, he ran to the edge—where Ishizu and Rishid already were—and stared into the endless depths of the void. "Why?!" he sobbed. "WHY??!! What's going on???!! Why did they do that?!"  
  
Lou started to laugh. "The fools! They're only furthering our plot all the more!!"  
  
"You are wrong, Lou."  
  
Everyone looked up to see the veiled man standing on the ledge, Alyson in his arms.  
  
"WHAT?!!" Lou yelled. "Who are you?! Come down here this instant!!" His face turned purple with rage.  
  
"Seto Kaiba and Marik Ishtar have defeated the beast," the stranger said, ignoring the wicked man's temper tantrum. "Their acts of willingly throwing themselves into the pit mean that the beast can no longer rise. It is destroyed."  
  
A horrible rumble shook the cave they were in and everyone toppled to the hard floor.  
  
Lou picked himself up, his face twisted in an ugly grimace. He knew that the Middle Eastern man was right. But he also knew something else.  
  
"They may have foiled our plans, but none of you will ever see the light of another day!!" he screamed. 


	19. Release

"WHAT?!" Joey cried out. "No way!!"  
  
Lou smirked. "There's not any escape from here. You can see the walls are crumbling. This cave was created specially for the reviving of the beast. Now that it can't be awakened ever again, the cave has no choice but to self-destruct." A horrid spray of blood shot up from deep within the dark crater and everyone screamed and reeled back in alarm.  
  
The wraiths, wanting to save themselves, released all their prisoners and began to vanish.  
  
Tristan got to his feet, angered immensely by all this. "Yeah? Well, it looks like you're going down with us, Lou! If there's no way out, then you can't get out either!"  
  
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Lou made a half-turn, steadying himself against the quaking floor. "But no, I won't be perishing with any of you pathetic losers." He made a move to shove Mokuba off the ledge.  
  
"Leave him alone, you big bully!" Alyson screamed, blasting Lou without warning and sending him flying back.  
  
Mokuba slowly got up, his heart pounding. "Whoa," he uttered. "That was too close!"  
  
Undaunted, the wicked Lou stood to try again, grabbing at Serenity this time. The poor girl shrieked in alarm, her hazel eyes wide.  
  
"Hey!" Joey growled low, intercepting him, "no one messes with my sister!!" He delivered a fierce punch to Lou's jaw.  
  
Rishid grabbed the man as he fell back. Saying nothing, the strong Egyptian forced Lou's arms behind his back. He was determined to not let Marik's—and Kaiba's—sacrifices be in vain.  
  
"This is all very amusing," Vivalene's voice called suddenly. "Even though the beast didn't rise, I have gotten what I really wanted. My two greatest enemies are dead!"  
  
"THEY'RE NOT DEAD!!" Mokuba yelled. But even as he said it, he knew it wasn't likely to be true.  
  
Ishizu narrowed her eyes. "Even if . . . even if they have perished, they died bravely," she declared, tears trailing down her cheeks.  
  
"Oh yes," Vivalene said mockingly. "So very bravely."  
  
"SILENCE!!" Rishid yelled in fury, knowing that they had to get out but being unable to stand having his brother put down by anyone, especially this treacherous, unfeeling creature.  
  
And really . . . how could he bear to leave? How could he? What if Marik was still alive in there somehow? He couldn't leave his brother in this Heaven-forsaken place!  
  
Abruptly the veiled man appeared right in their midst with Alyson. "We all must depart," he announced, dodging a falling beam.  
  
Alyson ran to her grandmother and hugged her tightly, fear in her eyes. This whole experience was all so terrible . . . so frightening. . . . She just wanted to go home and be a normal girl again, without worrying about demons and sacrifices and all of the outrageous things that a six-year-old should never have to witness.  
  
Serenity knew exactly how Alyson felt. She had seen so much death on this night. So many of the friends she had become fond of had been hurt in some way or were even . . . gone. For one with such a sheltered, yet loving, heart it was almost too much to take.  
  
"Yugi, how can we leave when Kaiba and Marik are still . . ." Téa trailed off, her eyes sad. She knew that their friends couldn't be rescued from the pit.  
  
Yugi knew it as well. He didn't meet Téa's gaze.  
  
"I don't think we'll be leaving just yet."  
  
Everyone froze at the sound of the gravelly voice and then looked up at the high ledge where Seto and Marik had been only moments before. Amid the collapsing walls and rising smoke and debris they could see a familiar figure laughing maniacally.  
  
"You!" Yami Yugi cried, making out the spiked hair of one crazed tomb raider.  
  
Yami Bakura continued to sneer. "You can destroy my physical body, Pharaoh, but you can never destroy me!"  
  
"Where's Bakura?!" Tristan demanded.  
  
"Right here," Yami Bakura replied, indicating that the boy's body was being controlled by him.  
  
Yami Yugi narrowed his eyes. "What is it you want, tomb raider? We don't have time for shenanigans, especially yours!"  
  
"I merely want revenge on those who caused all of this," was the reply as Yami Bakura's eyes lighted upon Lou and Vivalene.  
  
"Are you nuts?! No, wait—don't answer that," Tristan groaned. "But the place is gonna crumble any minute now!" The brown-haired boy glared up at the robber he so despised.  
  
"Well then, I'll just have to move fast, won't I?" Yami Bakura grinned as he pulled out his deck.  
  
Lou messed up his hair in frustration. "Doesn't anyone ever stay dead around here?!" he yelled.  
  
Behind the veil, the Middle Eastern man had to smile in amusement. "It doesn't seem so, does it."  
  
"Tomb raider!! Now isn't the time!!" Yami Yugi screamed in desperation, knowing that there likely wasn't anything that could stop Yami Bakura now.  
  
"Seto and Marik sacrificed themselves to save us," Mokuba said angrily, tears falling. "We can't go do something stupid now!"  
  
"And so we will not." The veiled stranger began to concentrate hard, generating a portal.  
  
Yugi turned to stare. There was only one he knew of who could do such a thing. "Shadi?" he whispered tentatively.  
  
He was ignored. This is not the time to reveal my identity, the man thought to himself.  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING??!" Mokuba wailed. "We're not going without Seto and Marik!! We're just not!!"  
  
Rishid looked away, embracing Ishizu and trying to comfort them both.  
  
"There is nothing I can do for them," the mysterious stranger answered solemnly.  
  
"Are they . . . dead?" Ishizu whispered.  
  
Again he refused to reply.  
  
"Yami Bakura, you must come down now!" Yami Yugi growled, watching as the thief began summoning something unknown. "If you do not, you and Bakura will both perish!!"  
  
Yami Bakura snarled, but then came down, much to everyone's surprise and Oreo's delight.  
  
As everyone scrambled into the portal, Lou and Vivalene angrily tried to follow and force them back out.  
  
"Come with us!" Yugi pleaded. "You'll both be caught in this!!"  
  
Lou only cursed and grabbed at Yugi, trying to pull him out.  
  
Yami Bakura gave a satisfied smirk. "Change of Heart," he murmured, bringing the card forth. Suddenly Lou froze, his eyes blank. Before he or Vivalene were able to do anything about it, they toppled into the portal as well and Yami Bakura shook his head in disgust. "Not exactly what I was hoping to accomplish," he grunted.  
  
"WE CAN'T GO!" Mokuba shrieked. "WE CAN'T!!" He struggled against Duke's viselike grip in vain, tears spilling from his pain-filled eyes. "We just can't," he said again, looking lost. "BIG BROTHER!!!! MARIK!!!! Come back!!" His voice echoed throughout the portal as it began to close. "Oh please come back. . . ."  
  
Yugi looked away, unable to bear the younger boy's screams and his own sorrow as well. They couldn't leave their friends—and in Ishizu's, Rishid's, and Mokuba's case, their family—behind . . . and yet . . . they had no choice.  
  
****  
  
Everyone soon found themselves sprawled all over the deserted, famous baseball park back in Boston. Slowly they all got to their feet, a mixture of feelings churning in their hearts.  
  
"We have had a great victory this night, but a great loss as well," Yami Yugi declared gravely. "Seto Kaiba and Marik Ishtar both died heroically to keep us all safe, and to keep an abominable evil from taking over. We forever will owe them our deepest gratitude and our remembrance."  
  
Mokuba started to sob again and Ishizu held him close.  
  
"The best way to honor their memories now is to ensure that we do not start arguing with each other," Rishid said quietly. "We should leave here more united than we were when we arrived." He turned away, tears chasing each other down his face.  
  
"Rishid is right," Ishizu agreed.  
  
A bright light glowed in the middle of the stadium and everyone turned to look, their eyes wide in trepidation and disbelief.  
  
"Here are your loved ones," Kasumi said gently, appearing in all her angelic glory along with Kamara. At their feet lay both Seto Kaiba and Marik Ishtar. Neither of the two boys were moving and both of them were bleeding profusely from the torture they'd undergone.  
  
Mokuba and the other two Ishtars cried out and ran forward, dropping to their knees next to the brothers they treasured so dearly. The others stood by, also horrified, but not knowing exactly what to do.  
  
"Seto??! SETO??!!" Mokuba wailed, shaking the brown-haired boy frantically. "Big brother . . . please . . ."  
  
Ishizu watched as Rishid took Marik into his arms, remembering the nightmarish spurt of blood that had come up from the pit. She wondered if that had been her brother's and Seto's blood, but no . . . there was too much of it. It couldn't have been theirs. At least, that was what she hoped. "Brother," she said softly, touching Marik's arm. The boy didn't respond.  
  
Kamara smiled gently at them. "They were both very brave and selfless," she said.  
  
"'Were'?!" Mokuba yelped, hugging Seto protectively and crying. "NO!! They're gonna get up!! Seto!!! Seto, please!!!! You can't just leave me!!!"  
  
Rishid cradled Marik tenderly, helping Ishizu wrap him in her white cape. "His leg is cut badly," Rishid worried, gently examining the wound. Marik didn't stir at all, worrying them both even more.  
  
Yami Bakura offered no apologies. It had been his Man-Eater Bug that had done that to Marik, but Yami Bakura himself hadn't been in control, so he felt that it wasn't his fault.  
  
Kasumi closed her eyes, chanting softly. "They did a remarkable deed that shall be remembered," she told them. "And now they will be healed."  
  
"But if they're dead . . ." Mokuba sniffled.  
  
"They are not," Kasumi told him kindly. "They survived."  
  
To everyone's astonishment, the boys' wounds began to close up and vanish. After a moment, Seto opened his eyes and tried to focus.  
  
"Big brother!!" Mokuba cried happily, giving him a very gentle, joyous hug.  
  
Seto smiled, hugging him back.  
  
"Marik?" Ishizu said softly.  
  
"Please wake up, brother," Rishid added sadly. "We miss you!"  
  
After a moment Marik's eyes fluttered as he tried to regain consciousness. "Hello," he said softly, managing a tired smile as Rishid and Ishizu gazed down at him.  
  
"Oh Marik!" Ishizu exclaimed, and Rishid brightened immensely.  
  
Yugi watched happily as the Ishtars and the Kaibas embraced. "Well," he said with a sigh of relief, "we're all safe."  
  
"Yeah," Joey grinned, hugging Serenity.  
  
Kamara nodded. "You have proven yourselves to all be truly kind and good. I was sent here to test you all. I am not a mortal." Shimmering, she vanished with Kasumi while everyone else stared in a kind of awe.  
  
Bakura, meanwhile, sat up and blinked as his Yami retreated back in the Ring. "Oh my," he said softly, "I've had the most horrible nightmare!"  
  
Tristan and Duke exchanged glances.  
  
"Should we tell him it was real?" Duke wondered.  
  
Tristan shook his head. "Let's not. Let's just call the police to arrest those clowns." He pointed at a dazed Lou and Vivalene.  
  
"Meow," Oreo said in delight. 


	20. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
"Oh man," Joey declared as everyone relaxed in the dining room of the Boston hotel, "I never wanna repeat that kind of experience again!"  
  
"Neither do I," Mai said firmly.  
  
Rex stayed silent, having listened to them relay the tale of what had happened several days ago two or three times now. He wasn't sure whether he was upset or happy that he'd been left out of the major action, but at any rate, he was glad to be out of the hospital.  
  
Alyson grinned. "We finally found our relatives here in Boston," she declared. "Grandma and I are gonna go live with them!"  
  
"Well, that's great," Yugi said sincerely.  
  
"It's gonna be kinda lonely without you around, kid," Joey remarked, leaning back on the soft couch at the back of the room where they all were.  
  
"Yeah . . . I'm gonna miss you guys!" Alyson declared.  
  
Ishizu rubbed Marik's arm. "I am so very thankful that you were spared, my brother," she said softly.  
  
Marik smiled, leaning against her. He was glad as well. And he was also glad that Seto had survived. He couldn't stand to think of poor Mokuba being without his brother.  
  
Oreo meowed loudly, announcing her arrival with a turkey drumstick.  
  
Yami Bakura looked at her disapprovingly. "CAT!!" he growled.  
  
Oreo simply ignored him and crawled between him and Bakura to eat her prize.  
  
"So what's going to happen with you, Mako?" Téa wanted to know.  
  
Mako smiled. "Martin thinks he may know where my father is. I'm going to travel with him to look."  
  
Everyone expressed their hopes and prayers that he would be successful in his venture.  
  
"What about those pirates?" Mokuba spoke up from where he was curled up next to Seto. "Are they still running free?"  
  
"They are."  
  
The Middle Eastern man was suddenly sitting in a nearby chair, previously unannounced—as usual.  
  
"The most deadly evil since the beginning of the year has been defeated," the stranger went on, "but trouble still lurks in the shadows. The pirates must be rounded up before they can find any more ancient prophecies." He stood up slowly. "And it falls to me to go after them."  
  
"But who the heck are you, man?!" Joey wanted to know. "You've been helping us all through this crazy caper, but you never once introduced yourself!" He crossed his arms. "I kinda like to know who's helpin' us out here."  
  
"I am an ally," was the reply. "That is really all you need to know." He turned away, allowing Ishizu to get a clear look at his eyes before he did. The woman's own eyes widened, but she said nothing.  
  
"Before I depart," he said now, "I will escort Alyson and Mrs. Perkins to their new residence."  
  
Alyson grinned happily.  
  
****  
  
Everyone stayed in Boston for another day or two, catching up on all the sights and just having a good time, free of mystery-solving and loved ones nearly crossing the veil.  
  
"It's been awesome," Téa smiled. "What do you want to do now, Yugi?" They were all standing outside Alyson's new home, preparing to go in and say goodbye before leaving on one of Seto's private jets.  
  
"Well," Yugi said, "I'd really like to go home. We've been gone so long and had so many hair-raising experiences. . . . Now I think I just want to go home to my own bed for a while."  
  
Joey grinned. "Hey, now you're talkin'!" he said. "It's falltime now! I wanna show Serenity all the autumn leaves back in Domino City. You'd like that, wouldn't you, sis?"  
  
Serenity smiled. "I'd love it, Joey," she told him happily.  
  
"Then it's settled," Joey said. "Homeward bound!"  
  
****  
  
Inside the home, Alyson gave Shadi a last hug.  
  
"You're gonna come back and visit, aren't you?" she said accusingly.  
  
"Yes," he assured her. "I will come."  
  
"You'd better come before so long this time!" she scolded.  
  
Shadi chuckled. "I had better," he agreed, straightening up.  
  
Slowly Alyson reached out and handed him the Ankh. "You're gonna take this back now, aren't you?" she said softly.  
  
The man nodded, taking it from her. "You took very good care of it, Alyson," he told her. "I knew you would." He turned to the door. "Ah, your friends are here," he said, seeing Yugi and the others coming up the walkway.  
  
Alyson grinned, but looked sad. "Yeah, they're here to say goodbye. They're leaving now, too. Everyone's leaving!"  
  
"They will come back," Shadi said. "And you will make friends here in Boston." Carefully he placed the Ankh around his neck and again pulled the veil up over the lower half of his face. It still wasn't safe to let everyone know that he was still alive, but he was certain that Ishizu—andYugi—would keep his secret.  
  
After saying his last goodbyes to Alyson, the mysterious man walked downstairs and past Yugi and the others. Only Yugi and Ishizu saw him, however, as he was utilizing the power of his Millennium Item again and making himself invisible to all except them.  
  
Yugi stared, his eyes as wide as Ishizu's had been. He dared not speak aloud, but he smiled happily.  
  
Ishizu stared as well and then murmured what sounded like "Goodbye" in Egyptian.  
  
"What is it, sister?" Marik asked curiously.  
  
Ishizu smiled secretively. "An old friend," she said simply, placing an arm around each of the brothers she loved so dearly. 


End file.
